Alienated
by smile1
Summary: ML (some MM) DONE! The humans are alienated from the Pod Squad, though when something alien happens to Liz, they are forced to reunite and when Liz is kidnapped by Nikolas, Tess will no longer have the last word. She is the key...
1. Alienated

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

*A/N: Now, most of the time I write Gilmore Girls fics and this is actually my first try at a Roswell fic. I just wanted to give it a try, cause I like the series a lot. I'm sure that there are spoilers, but since I haven't seen the show in a while, I can't remember the names of the episodes. I hope it's readable. :-)

*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)

.....big brown eyes can hypnotize.....

Liz Parker was standing behind the counter of the Crashdown, a place she found herself at often, thinking of how many roads would lead her out off Roswell. Ever since she had been a little girl, she had found herself fantasizing about places beyond this small town, a place where all the shops didn't make their profit by selling UFO trinkets. By the time she had started her first year of high school she had mapped out her entire future and despite the many tribulations, that either fate or destiny had thrown at her, she was coming close to succeeding.

''I think the counter's spotless by now,'' came Maria's voice from behind her, which had a worried edge to it, despite the effort she made to hide it. 

Liz looked down at the counter. Her hand was still making circular movements, although she hadn't noticed until now. 

''Are you okay?''

Liz nodded, while she forced herself to stop moving the cloth across the counter. 

''Really?'' Maria asked, while crossing her arms. ''Cause you seem a little out of it.''

A few weeks ago they would have laughed at Maria's choice of words, but that was a couple of weeks ago and a lot had changed. 

Liz sighed and ran a hand through her hair, knowing that it had no use, because the strands would be hanging in front of her face again as soon as she removed her hand. But she didn't care. The gesture was meant to calm her nerves and take her worries down a notch or two. But as she glanced over at a familiar table, she knew that there was no use in trying to forget and in pretending that her life was normal once more. She had gotten detached from normal a while ago and she had even gotten used to it, until Alex was found dead at his home. 

She remembered her first reaction clearly, simply because it had been different from everyone around her. Instead of breaking down into tears, she had blamed Tess. It had been a reckless thing for her to do, especially since she didn't have any evidence, but it had felt right to her. Of course the rest of the group had looked at her as if she had been crazy, although they hadn't said it. But Liz had known that it was just out of pity for her and respect for Alex. The look in their eyes had made it clear to her that they did find it an absurd accusation, especially since Tess had never gotten the chance to really get to know Alex. But the look Max had given her had made her feel so small. It was clear on which side he was on.....

Ever since Tess got here, she had been swarming around Max, hoping to get some of his attention, which she eventually got. After Liz had been made clear that no one believed her, she started to search for evidence to back up her words. And within a month she had gathered more than enough, Maria had even started to help her when she had seen that Liz had indeed been on to something. Liz had known that she was right, but on the night before she had planned to show the rest all the documents and files she had gathered, she had found her room a mess.....and all the evidence was gone. 

It had been Tess, both she and Maria had known that, but when they had said those same words to Max, he refused to believe them. They were just looking for something to blame on Tess, because they didn't like her, which both Liz and Maria didn't deny. They didn't like Tess and their dislike had only grown when they had found out that she had been Max's wife back on Antar. Jealousy and hurt had filled Liz's eyes when she had heard this, after which she had refused to talk to anyone but Maria for two weeks. But she had gotten over that, although the spark of jealousy seemed to be lit again every time she saw Max and Tess together, especially now that they had seemed to grow closer to each other. Everywhere Max went, Tess followed, which he didn't seem to mind. Just like on this afternoon.....

At one of the tables in the back of the diner the Pod Squad sat, just the four of them.....like they had been ever since she and Maria had told them that Tess was the one who had messed up Liz's room and took all the evidence, because she knew that they had been right. Everyone except Michael had gotten angry with them, but when Maria kept pushing for him to pick their side, he had gotten fed up and of course, chose the side of Max, Tess and Isabel. And just as Liz was heartbroken over the fact that Max had chosen Tess over her, so was Maria heartbroken over the fact that Michael hadn't decided to take her side. Now she had to watch in silence as he grew closer and closer to Isabel. 

Maria followed Liz's gaze and her usual cheerfulness faded for a few seconds as regret and sadness briefly took over her expression. ''Who's going to bring them their order?''

Liz shrugged. ''I'll do it.''

''Are you sure? Cause I wouldn't mind doing it, you know?''

''Yes, you would,'' Liz said, as she turned around and grabbed the plates with the burgers their new cook had just whipped up. 

Maria followed Liz's movements, although her eyes kept wandering towards the kitchen, thinking of the many fights and make-ups she and Michael had had in there. ''It still feels weird, not being a part of their group anymore. But I guess we never really fitted in, since we don't have antennas hidden underneath or hair or some cool Chekoslovakian powers.''

Liz didn't say a thing as she arranged the plates and glasses, so that they would all fit onto one tray. ''Of course those powers were what, you know..........''

''Murdered Alex,'' Liz bitterly finished for her. 

Maria nodded. ''At least we only have to blame Tess for that, the others would never do something like that.''

''But they didn't take responsibility for it, which makes them all guilty, in my eyes at least,'' Liz said, as she squeezed a bottle of Tabasco in between two glasses, out of habit. 

''Liz.........,'' Maria started.

''I just can't believe that they still come here. I mean, they should at least have the decency to leave us alone.''

''The Crashdown is one of the only diners in Roswell.''

''You're defending them,'' Liz said, while lifting the tray up from the counter, before heading over to their table, her expression cold and emotionless, because of the memories of Alex that were brought up to the surface during the previous conversation. 

Even though her sneakers made no sound on the tiles, all for of them knew that she was heading towards them. They could sense her and the hostility she felt towards every single one of them, although most of it was meant for the girl who was sitting next to Max. Liz started to place the drinks and plates of food in front of them without saying anything and without looking up once. When she was done, she quickly scribbled something down on a small piece of paper, before ripping it off and placing it on the table. 

''You can pay at the counter when you're done.''

And with those impersonal words, she slid the pencil back behind her ear, grabbed the empty tray and headed towards another table. 

Max followed her with his eyes and immediately saw how she seemed to open up towards other people. Her eyes lost their coldness and stood friendly, as she talked to her customers, a small smile accompanying almost every word. The fact that she could act so different towards them, towards him, hurt. Just as much as it hurt to see her at school every day, knowing that she wouldn't glance at him once or come over to talk to him. Instead she avoided them and went back to sitting with Kyle and Maria during lunch. Alex used to sit with them too, he knew that and he felt guilty, cause he didn't do anything to prevent it, but he didn't believe Tess would do something as horrible as that. 

''She has issues,'' Tess remarked, before taking a bite of her burger. 

Max and Michael exchanged a look that went unnoticed by the two girls. Although they both believed that Tess wouldn't do something as heartless as that, they did have their doubts, especially because both Liz and Maria seemed so sure of their case. Max was glad that they didn't get the chance to show him the evidence and confront him with it. He didn't know how he would have handled that. After all, he and Tess did have some sort of connection and he wanted to be able to trust her. He had to trust her before he would be able to love her. Although he felt as if he was supposed to love her, cause it was his destiny to be with her. But wasn't he the one who used to believe that they could make their own destiny.....

He started to put some Tabasco on his burger, which was another reminder that they were indeed not normal. He glanced over at Liz once more, before taking a bite of his burger. She had made him feel normal.....

*~*~*

Liz sensed him coming her way, before he had even gotten the chance to get up and give himself away. Even though she had distanced herself from him, the connection she seemed to have with him never once faltered. She always knew when he entered a room or when he was watching her. Just like now, she would start to feel nervous, because of the intensity that she felt. When he had healed her she didn't know how to act around him, simply because she felt the weight of his presence before she even saw him. She had told him about this and he had reassured her, saying that it was probably a side affect of him healing her. He convinced her that it would probably take a few days to pass, but it never did, which she was grateful for once she had gotten used to it. It gave her the chance to run and hide from him, but since Maria was nowhere to be found, she couldn't.

She kept her back facing him, while she waited, pretending to be busy with stacking glasses. But if Max would look too closely, he would see how nervous she was by her shaking hands. But thankfully he never looked that closely, not anymore. He hardly ever looked at her at all anymore and they had stopped talking weeks ago. This was the first time he had come up to the counter himself. Normally he would sent Michael. When she heard him clear his throat, she didn't immediately respond. Instead she stacked a few more glasses before turning around and facing him.

''Yeah?'' she asked, as she looked at him, although it felt to Max as if she was looking right through him.

He held up the receipt she had given him earlier. ''I wanted to pay,'' he said, stating the obvious, while meeting Liz's eyes, trying to get through to her.

But Liz wouldn't let him. She lowered her eyes, while taking the receipt from him. He handed her a twenty dollar bill, which she carefully took from him, making sure not to touch him. While she got his change, he watched her. Taking in the familiar movements, like the way she would run her hand through her hair and furrow her brow when she was concentrating. Little things he still hadn't forgotten, simply because he didn't want to forget her. When she handed him the change, she did it without looking up at him.

''Liz,'' he softly said, hoping that she would acknowledge his gesture. 

And she did, although it took her a few seconds to respond to his voice. His tone sounded like he used to talk to her, gentle and caring, almost soothing, which she always thought went with his brown eyes. Eyes in which she kept finding new things and which seemed to hold all the mysteries in the world. But just as she was about to meet his eyes, Tess's voice interrupted them and reminded Liz of why she had kept her distance from him all this time.

''Max! Let's go!''

Max let out a silent sigh, as he put the change in his pockets and gave Liz an apologetic look, whom's eyes stood bitter and also a little regretful. 

''I have to go.''

''At least we know who wears the pants in the relationship, right?''

Something within Max's eyes flickered at the sound of her hurtful words and without responding he turned around and headed over to Tess. But just before he left, he glanced back at her, his eyes mimicking her own coolness. She instantly lowered her eyes to the counter, letting her hair cover them, shading them from the rest of the diner. Guilt filled her as she tried very hard not to cry. She just wanted things to go back to normal, when Tess hadn't invaded their relationship. Back when she would never do or say anything intentionally to hurt Max. Back to when he would believe her over anyone, even Michael and back to when his eyes were still shining with the love and hope he felt when he looked at her. Back to when they both believed that they were destined to be.....

Liz sadly smiled, as she watched Max get in his jeep, while she remembered the many kisses they had shared. Kissed were she would see nothing but stars.....

*~*~*

That night when she was changing into her pajamas, tears came into her eyes without warning. It wasn't the first time that she had suddenly burst into tears. It happened at least once a week, when the bottled up frustrations would get too much for her. And tonight she couldn't seem to stop herself from crying. She managed to pull on her tanktop, before dropping herself on her bed, where she made herself as small as possible and silently sobbed. She felt alienated.....

*R*E*V*I*E*W*! Please? :-) I know, it's very dramatic, isn't it? I just haven't seen the show in a while, so it might take me a while to get everyone into character. And I also know that I'm not the best writer, but I just wanted to write a Roswell fic, cause I just re-discovered my fascination with this show and for the different relationships and characters. Thanks for taking the time to read it. :-)


	2. But then, what's normal?

*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

*A/N: Hey! :-) I'm not going to bother you with too much chitchat right now, just be sure to read the A/N at the bottom of the story on your way out. I hope this chapter works for you. The main theme here was definitely Max/Liz and how they still care for each other, but Tess is in the way, you know? Hope ya'll feel that when you're reading. :-)

*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)

Liz was walking through a long hallway and had been for a while now. At first her pace had been quick, but that was when she still had expected to see a door every time she turned the corner. Now her pace was slow and lingering. She was taking her time to notice things about this hallway. Things she hadn't noticed before. Like how narrow it really was. If she reached out her hands a little, they would collide with the rough texture of the walls. Walls which were painted in the purest of whites. A shade of white that would sting her eyes if she looked at it too long, but she knew that she couldn't close her eyes. She had to keep them open, afraid that she might miss the single door that would lead her out of here. Afraid that she might miss her only way of getting out of here.

But no matter how hard she looked or hoped, the wall didn't even reveal so much as a crack. A crack which would let her know that this hallway was indeed in contact with the world she was familiar with. With the world she belonged in, although there was something about this place which seemed familiar to her. Perhaps it was the color of white or the way her footsteps sounded on the tiles, like she had been here before. But she hadn't. She couldn't remember being here before. She quickly rounded another corner, but was forced to stop walking when her ears collided with a screeching cry. It sounded like a pair of manicured fingernails were being scratched across a blackboard. A horrible sound. A sound which caused tears to appear in Liz's eyes. But also a sound that triggered one of her memories. A memory she had desperately tried to forget, but still dreamed about every now and then. A dream which she awoke to with rapid breathing and shaking hands. A dream which was really a nightmare. And when the second scream reached her ears, her heart started to beat faster and her hands started to shake at the same pace. It was him. 

''Max!'' Liz yelled, the panic more than evident in her voice. It was the same panic she had felt the first time she realized that they had locked him up in a room as white as the walls around here. It was the same panic she had felt when she saw flashes of what they had done to him and it was the same panic she felt during her dreams. 

She started to move faster, almost running. She wanted to do something. She had to do something. She didn't want Max to go through something this horrible again. She hurried around another corner, but came to an abrupt stop when she realized that this hallway had doors. Steel doors, which might lead her to him. As another scream cut through her body, she ran to one of the doors and tried to open it. When it wouldn't, she immediately moved on an tried another one. After trying a few more, she got frustrated and scared. She couldn't remember which doors she had tried and which she hadn't. The screams had seemed to die out a while ago, which made her worry even more. As long as she had heard his voice she had known that he was still alive. Now there was nothing but silence. 

Liz tried a few more doors, knocking on them and screaming for someone to open up, but none of the doors ever opened. Defeated she leaned against one of the doors and looked at her hands, which were still shaking. She had never been so scared or worried for anyone in her entire life. A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away, not wanting to give up when she didn't know if Max was still alive or not. She wanted evidence. Evidence to back up her tears. Evidence that would prove her wrong. He was still alive. 

Suddenly there was a loud click. Liz raised her head and went by every door with her eyes. One of the last doors had opened and someone was standing there. Liz wondered if she should go back or forwards. But she realized that this might be her only way out and she hesitantly moved towards the door. When she was close enough to recognize the figure, she gasped and started to walk faster. It was Max. Her feet seemed to stumble over each other, because they couldn't keep up with the pace she had set. She stopped walking when she was only inches away from him. 

She smiled at him and let her eyes wander across his body, wanting to see if he was okay. Although there were no cuts or bruises, there was something odd about him. His skin wasn't his usual healthy color. Instead it seemed covered in a greyish shade. And his eyes, they were darker than usual and slightly bigger. He must have seen the doubt in her eyes, because he quickly reached out and pulled her into the room. His touch didn't comfort her, it felt different somehow. Rougher. And she couldn't stand it, it felt alien to her. She pulled her arm free and backed away from Max in fear, even though he didn't make any attempt to reach for her again.

Suddenly she crashed into something cold and she screamed, as objects clattered to the ground. She turned around to look at what she had just bumped into. It was a steel table. She took a few steps back and lowered her eyes to the objects which had fallen to the ground. Her hand flew to cover her mouth when she saw the operating knives. There blades were without a doubt razor-sharp and would cut through flesh like butter. She instantly turned around, not wanting to see her own frightened face reflected in the silver blades. Instead she decided to focus on Max, wondering why he had lead her into this particular room.

As if he could read her mind, he lifted up his hand and motioned for her to follow. His long fingers were also covered with a sickly grey color. A color which scared Liz, because it was so foreign to her. Hesitantly she took a few steps towards him, pausing briefly, when he placed his hand on the wall to reveal a silver hand print, the same she had had imprinted on her own skin, like a temporarily tattoo. The silver started to spread across the wall, creating a square which was precisely of the same size as the doors she had passed in the hallway. And when Max took a step towards it , the square started to evaporate, creating a doorway where they could pass through. Liz had no choice but to follow him.

As soon as she stepped through the opening, it materialized itself again, leaving nothing to see but the a white wall. Max stood a few feet in front of her and when she moved closer, she realized that he was standing in front of another steel table. One that, especially in this kind of environment, could make chills run down your spine and reminded her of an operating table. As she moved even closer, another wave of panic hit her and her breath caught in her throat, while she tried to process the image she was being confronted with. On the table lay Alex. His hands and legs were strapped to the table with steel chains that seemed to melt right into the table, making it impossible for him to even move so much as an inch.

A cry escaped Liz's lips as she saw how pale he was. ''Alex.'' She hurried towards the table and uttered his name once more. ''Alex.''

Alex slowly responded to her, too slowly in Liz's eyes. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes holding none of the life she remembered. He opened his mouth, which seemed to cost him all of his remaining energy, but nothing came out, but a loud breathing sound, as if he was struggling for every breathe he took. Tears appeared in her eyes as she reached for his forehead, just wanting to give him some form of comfort and relief from the pain he must be feeling. But before she could place her hand on his skin, Max grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her away from the table. Away from Alex.

Liz wanted to struggle, put up a fight, but was partly distracted by footsteps that were coming their way. She turned her head sideways and gasped when she saw Tess heading towards them, dressed in a white coat, one doctors always wore. As Tess passed them, she quickly met Max's eyes, before moving over to Alex. Liz knew that there was something terribly wrong with both Max and Tess, and when Tess reached into one of her pockets, Liz screamed. She wanted Tess to disappear and she wanted Max to turn back into the Max she knew and she wanted Alex to feel better. Nothing seemed right. Everything seemed so alien.

But Max quickly put a stop to her screams by placing his hand tightly over her mouth, making it harder for her to breathe. Her eyes never left Tess, as she reached inside her pocket and pulled out a shiny object. One that Liz recognized only seconds later as one of the operating knives she had seen in the other room. She started to struggle against Max's hold, with no success, although she didn't want to give up. She had to get to Alex, she had to protect him. Tess wasn't going to take him from her again. But no matter what she did or in what direction she squirmed, Max's hold never faltered. And eventually she did give up and watched with tears in her eyes as Tess lowered the knife down to Alex's chest. She had let him down, again.

*~*~*

Liz woke up gasping for air, while she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She forced herself to take deep breaths, as she waited for the images of the nightmare to evaporate into pieces that weren't big enough to remember. But no matter how much she wanted to forget it, the images always remained vivid in her mind and Alex's cries made it hard for her to fall asleep. How could she stop dreaming about his death, when she didn't know how he died. Of course Tess hadn't killed him with an operating knife, cause there had been no cuts on his body, but Tess knew many ways of killing a person that were probably more horrible than that. 

Liz threw her covers to the side. Now that she had her breathing under control again, she realized how clammy the air around her was. It felt warm and humid against her skin and it seemed to keep putting more and more pressure on her. She laid back down and pressed herself down on the sheets, which were still at a normal temperature. But eventually she pulled her covers back up. Without them she felt naked. She felt as if she was lying on one of those steel tables. It made her think of Alex. And when she closed her eyes she would see flashes of Alex's pained and horrified expression. So, she kept her eyes open, accepting the fact that she wouldn't get any more sleep tonight.

*~*~*

The next morning it was evident that Liz had had another rough night. Faint bags could be seen underneath her eyes, which held an exhausted look. A look Maria immediately understood when she saw Liz that morning. It wasn't only the lack of sleep that had caused it. It was also the same dream that she kept having at least once a week. And Maria felt sorry for her. Whenever she saw Liz like this, all her sympathy for the four aliens disappeared and she knew that Tess shouldn't be trusted. Although she never brought that up on days like these. Instead she empathetically smiled at her friend. 

''That day of the week again?'' she carefully asked, already knowing the answer.

Liz nodded, as she leaned back against her locker and rested her head against it. 

''Was it the same dream?''

Liz nodded once again. ''Yeah, I see Tess lowering the knife to his chest and then I wake up,'' she explained, purposely choosing not to say Alex's name. 

''Maybe it means that..............''

Liz sighed and turned her head to look at Maria. ''Analyzing it again won't make it go away.......... or for me to accept it.''

Maria nodded. The two girls didn't say anything else until the bell rang and they both went their separate ways. 

Liz slowly made her way over to her history class. She stood in the door opening for a few seconds as she looked in the direction of her desk. Max was already there, sitting in the seat next to her. She had known that he would be here, but she had hoped that she would arrive before he did. Liz sighed and made her way over to her desk. She dropped her books onto the desk with a loud clatter, but she didn't care. She just wanted this day to be over with. Although she would wake up tomorrow and think the same. It wasn't that she was depressed, cause she still wanted to achieve all the goals she had set for herself, but everything seemed more of a routine now. 

Liz glanced over at Max out of curiosity. She often wondered what was going on in his head. If he ever thought about Alex. If he doubted his decision to trust Tess instead of her. By the distant look in his eyes she knew that he was thinking about something, or worrying. He frequently worried, mostly about things that didn't even concern him or weren't his fault. She knew that she couldn't blame Max for Alex's death, but she could blame him for taking Tess's side and detaching himself from her and Maria. She could blame him for how she was feeling right now. After all, if she hadn't met him then she would still be carefree and Alex would still be alive. But on the other hand, she would also be dead if it wasn't for him.

Liz turned her head to look out the window before she would start to feel guilty for not trusting Tess. She let her eyes wander from one side of the schoolyard to the other side and back again. It was a good distraction and she did this a few times, before she came to an abrupt stop. A familiar figure had caught her eye. She frowned and wondered if what she was seeing was true or not. After all, how could Max be standing out there and sitting next to her at the same time. She shook her head and lowered her eyes for a few seconds. When she looked up again he was gone. Her eyes automatically flew over to Max, wondering about what she had just seen.

''Max,'' she softly said, his name seeming so familiar, just like the figure had seem out in the schoolyard. 

Max looked up from his notes and glanced over at Liz when he heard her say his name. But he got no acknowledgement from her. Instead she stared at her books for a while, before grabbing them and getting up. 

''Mrs. Parker, what are you doing?'' came the immediate response from their teacher.

''I don't feel well. I think I better go to the nurses office.''

With a small nod the teacher gave her permission to leave the classroom, which she did, giving Max another thing to worry about. 

Liz closed the door behind her and rounded the corner, instantly crashing into someone. She dropped her books, but kept herself from falling with them. 

''I'm sorry. I'm just late for class and.........''

Kyle Valenti stopped apologizing when he saw who he almost ran over. ''Liz, you okay?''

Liz shook her head, while lowering her eyes to her books. 

''Wanna go outside?'' Kyle offered, noticing how tired Liz looked.

''You have class,'' she pointed out.

Kyle shrugged. ''I'm late anyway.''

*~*~*

During her lunch period, Maria hurried out of the classroom and over to Liz's, wanting to see how she was doing. When Liz didn't leave the classroom as one of the first people, she became worried. And when Max came out and murmured something about Liz going to the nurses office, she turned around and headed for the nurses office, where she found out, to her relief, that Liz was never there. Feeling a little bit better she headed to her regular lunch spot, hoping that Kyle would know where Liz was. But her worrying came to an end when she spotted both Kyle and Liz sitting at the table. She joined them. 

''Hey, you okay?''

Liz shook her head. ''Remember how I wanted things to go back to normal?...... Well, now they are, but things are still not normal.''

Maria nodded, fully understanding what Liz meant. Kyle, on the other hand, didn't, but it didn't keep him from reaching for Liz's hand and gently squeezing it. After all, he and Maria were the only two people Liz could still depend on. 

*~*~*

Liz shivered as she went outside to throw out the trash. There were hardly any stars and there were no street lamps to light up the dark alley behind the Crashdown. But Liz was used to it. She had taken out the trash every night ever since she had been 7 years old. She followed the same dark path every night. 

She dumped the bag in the container, wanting to get back inside as soon as possible. While turning around she glanced in the direction of where the alley started. Underneath one of the first street lamps she could see, stood Max. She wasn't surprised by the fact that he was here, although he would normally use the front door and ask her permission before entering. 

''Max?'' she asked, while taking a step towards him. When he didn't make any attempt of meeting her half way, she started to head towards him. But when she was half way there, he turned around and disappeared around the corner. Liz frowned at his behavior and headed back inside, making sure to lock the door behind her.

*~*~*

That night, when Liz had gotten out of her uniform and slipped into a pair of sweats and a tank top, there was a knock on her window. One she recognized, because it used to happen almost every night. Back when she and Max still had things to talk about. Back when they were still together.

Liz turned around and met his eyes through the window. She made her way over to the window and unlatched it, so he could come in. His movements were familiar as he climbed into her room and closed the window behind him, knowing that the air was too cold. Liz crossed her arms and looked up at him.

''This is definitely a step up from the alley.''

Max shot her a confused look, not knowing what she meant. ''What?''

Liz shook her head. ''Never mind.''

''Are you alright?''

Liz sighed and uncrossed her arms, so she could run a hand through her hair. She should have expected him to worry about that, but she hadn't, because she didn't know he still cared. She nodded. ''Yeah, I'm fine.''

''Really?'' Max asked, his eyes losing their harshness, which he used as a cover, so people wouldn't know what he was thinking. ''Because you look quite the opposite.''

''I'm just tired,'' Liz said, as she sat down on her bed. ''And stalking's illegal. Even if it's Czechoslovakian stalking.''

A small smile appeared on Max's face, thinking that this had to be one of Maria's lines. Something she would use on Michael, although they hadn't seen or talked to each other for a while now. Something that was also his fault. He had pulled Liz and Maria into his world and now they were just another few of his responsibilities, although he knew that that wasn't true. Liz had been so much more than that. And she still was.

''I was worried,'' he stated.

''I'm fine......,'' Liz said, as she noticed the smile on his face. A smile that wasn't supposed to be there. She didn't forgive him for taking Tess's side and without her forgiving him things would never get back to normal between them. Alex's death wasn't something she could just forget, and she would remind him of just that. ''.........Alex's death isn't something I can just get over. He was my best friend.''

Max's smile weakened. ''I know. And I understand.''

Liz shook her head, not wanting to believe him. She couldn't believe him. ''You don't.''

''Liz,'' Max warned, although she didn't listen.

''At least when she wasn't here you would still give me a chance to prove myself. Now, you believe Tess, over me.'' Liz paused briefly, feeling the sadness that she was trying to keep underneath the surface, although it clearly shone through in her heartbroken expression. ''We used to be able to talk........''

''We still can,'' Max said, while taking a step towards her, not wanting for her to cry over something that wasn't true. 

Liz shook her head. ''We can't. I don't like Tess, I don't trust her.''

Max abruptly stopped moving. ''Because you haven't given her a fair chance.''

''I did. And she ruined it when she killed Alex.''

Max studied Liz for a few seconds, before realizing that they would never agree on Tess. Not when Liz would probably never trust her. And maybe she had a good reason to, but he didn't want to believe that. Not when Tess was supposedly his soulmate. She was a good person with great power, one he shared a bond with. A bond which they had formed back on Antar. 

''I should go,'' Max said, before turning around and walking over to the window.

''You really don't care, do you? About Alex, about how he died, about me.''

Max turned around and held Liz's gaze, wondering if she did really believe that. ''I love you,'' he stated, wanting desperately for her to believe it.

Liz's expression turned bitter and her response was simple, but effective. ''Loved.''

Max turned his head, while calmly opening the window. He didn't want to let her know how hurt he was by that simple statement. If she didn't care, then he didn't either. He climbed through the window and left. Liz didn't stop him, although she had wanted to. She knew that Max loved her, he had confessed that to her on more than one occasion, but she hadn't been thinking. All she could think about was Alex and how Tess had finally gotten her claws in Max. Tess had gotten everything that she wanted. She had gotten Max and had alienated the humans from the aliens. All was back to normal.

*R*E*V*I*E*W*! Please :-) So....... I've gotten a good response for the first chapter and although I don't write just for the reviews, they are definitely motivating and they make me doubt my writing less. So, thanks for that and I hope that this chapter worked for you. The main focus while writing this was on Liz's dream. I wanted you to feel just slightly panicked, so I hope that got through. And ya'll probably know the show way better than me, so I apologize if the characters are OOC. This is me practicing....... Thanks 4 reading! :-)


	3. For the greater good

Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
A/N: Hey! :-) I know that it has been two weeks since I updated, but I'm working on three stories at the same time, so I can't always update all three in one week. I mean, I don't want the chapters to end up too bad..... I hope you like this chapter. :-)  
  
Bye, smile :-)  
  
-x-x-x-  
  
''I saw Max,'' Liz said, while sitting down at her usual table. A table she normally shared with only Maria, but lately Kyle had been spending a few of his lunches with them.  
  
Both Kyle and Maria didn't look up at her words. Maria just kept flipping through one of those many paranormal magazines that you could find in almost every store in Roswell. They mostly informed you about aliens and told you what to do when one of their spacecrafts landed in your backyard. Maria had bought one every week ever since she had discovered them in the local supermarket. She had always been interested in the paranormal, although she never truly believed in aliens. She just wanted to read about them and their powers, which had been made up by some creative mind. But after meeting Michael, Max and Isabel, the magazine had lost its purpose. After all, now she could ask them about their actual powers, which were much more practical and believable than the ones described in the magazine.  
  
The only reason why she still read the magazine was to stir up memories of her and Michael. Memories of when they still had been together, although they had never officially broken up. They had just grown attached to the large distance that had been created between them. And the magazine reminded her of him. It reminded her of how annoyed he would get when he would catch her reading one of these magazines. He didn't comprehend why she had to keep reading them when she could ask him anything she wanted. Anything she wanted to know. But what she wanted to know right now would never get an answer from him that would satisfy her. She didn't even think that she would give him a fair chance to explain why he had believed Tess over her.  
  
While Maria was tangled up in her own thoughts, Kyle was busy rearranging the contents of his sandwich. Something he did often and used to bother both Maria and Liz a lot, because they didn't understand why he couldn't change the way he arranged the topics on his sandwich before he came to school. But they had gotten used to it by now. It was something to look at when there was nothing but silence between them.  
  
''I saw Max,'' Liz repeated, hoping to get a response this time.  
  
Kyle shrugged. ''I see him right now, want me to wave?''  
  
Liz ignored his response and looked over at Maria, who still hadn't looked up from her magazine. ''No, I saw him last night.''  
  
''At the Crashdown?'' Maria asked, finally showing some interest in what Liz had just said, although her eyes were still scanning the page in front of her.  
  
Liz shook her head. ''No.......... well, yeah, at the Crashdown,'' she said, emphasizing the last three words. When Maria threw her a confused look, she continued. ''I saw him in the alley actually.''  
  
''Max?'' Maria asked.  
  
''Yeah, I saw him, in the alley when I was taking out the trash,'' Liz explained. ''And I called him, but he didn't respond. He just...... left.''  
  
''Well, maybe he was afraid or he..........''  
  
''He came back,'' Liz interrupted. ''A few minutes later, when I went to my room, he knocked on my window.''  
  
''Did you let him in?'' Maria asked.  
  
Liz nodded. ''Yeah, he wanted to talk, but we ended up getting into another argument.''  
  
''About?''  
  
''Tess,'' Liz answered. ''I started it, although I really didn't mean to..... I just, I'm..........''  
  
''Jealous,'' Kyle pointed out, which earned him a glare from Maria. He put up his hands in defense. ''Hey, it happens to every girl.''  
  
''He told me he loved me,'' Liz stated, causing both Kyle and Maria's gaze to fly back over to her. ''And I told him that....... that he didn't. Then he left.''  
  
Both Kyle and Maria didn't say anything for a short while. Maria because she was trying to analyze Liz's response and Kyle, because he didn't know what to say to make Liz feel better. He didn't know what to say, because it was hard to say anything. Liz had been his girlfriend before she met Max, after all. And in a way, he was jealous of him. Even now, because even though Max and Liz had detached themselves from each other, Liz couldn't stop thinking about him.  
  
Finally Maria looked at her best friend again. ''Do you want my opinion?''  
  
Liz nodded.  
  
''I think that you and Max are making things too hard for each other. You two are trying too hard to forget about everything that has happened between the two of you. I mean, it'll fade, but it will take time.''  
  
''So, how will I make time go faster?'' Liz asked, her eyes lowered.  
  
''Forget about him. Get your train of life back on the rails.''  
  
Kyle raised an eyebrow at Maria's words, but didn't say anything. He wouldn't have done a better job.  
  
''I'm trying,'' Liz started. ''But lately I have been seeing him everywhere..... I mean, yesterday when I was sitting in class, Max was sitting beside me, but still I saw him standing outside when I looked out the window.''  
  
Maria hesitated before saying anything. ''You're just stressed and you want things to work out between you and Max so badly, so your mind created an illusion. The way you want to see Max, alone, without Tess.''  
  
Liz nodded, deciding to believe Maria on that one. ''Yeah, that's probably it.''  
  
Maria smiled. ''Just try not so hard to not think about him. Things will fall into place after that.''  
  
Liz returned Maria's smile, although she knew that she would never be able to stop thinking about Max. Not when he was giving her a reason to think about him. Him and Tess.....  
  
-x-x-x-  
  
At a table, only a few feet away from where Liz and her friends were sitting, Max and the pod squad sat. Max, Michael and Isabel had hardly ever sat together during lunch before Tess came to town. She had brought the four of them closer, making it clear to them that they only had each other to depend on, because no one would accept them if they found out what they really were. And although Liz, Maria and Kyle seemed to, Tess thought that they were really afraid of them, afraid of what they would do if they would be treated like true outsiders. Something that Max felt they were, aliens or not. None of them had ever really fitted in with the rest of the crowd. But he thought that they had fitted in with Liz, Maria and even Kyle, because they knew who they truly were, but they didn't judge. They had never treated them as outsiders, until now.....  
  
Max couldn't help but look over at Liz. His eyes seemed to be automatically drawn to her every time she was near. He only looked at her this often, because he had a goal. He was looking for a flaw. He had been looking for one ever since he had first seen her, at the Crashdown. She had been standing behind the counter, lightly resting her weight on her elbows, while glancing around the diner.  
  
The first thing he had noticed about her appearance were her long, dark locks. Unlike all the other waitresses, she refused to put her hair up and out of her face. She liked to have something to hide behind when there were too many gazes resting upon her and she felt comfortable having something to conceal her emotions behind. Although Max had seen past her wall of seriousness and carelessness the moment he had looked down into her eyes. Eyes which always seemed to be full with life and always stood understanding. That was the second thing he had found attractive about her, her warm personality, which consisted mostly of her kindness and sensitivity.  
  
That was why he had fallen for her in the beginning, and that was why he had so quickly begun to love her. Foolishly love her, because last night it had seemed as if she had already gotten over her feelings, which had to mean that they had never been as strong as his. Although judging her feelings like this was anything but fair, because he had also seen the hurt in her eyes last night. Hurt that was caused by her own stubbornness and jealousy. She was too stubborn to admit that she might be wrong about Tess and she was too jealous to even try and get along with her. Max sighed and wondered if he had made the right decision by sticking up for Tess, simply because he felt like he was expected to, because he and Tess shared a bond that seemed ancient compared to the bond he and Liz used to share.  
  
''Max!....... Max!''  
  
Max turned his head a little, so he could look at Isabel, who had an impatient look on her face. ''Finally.''  
  
''I'm sorry, Iz. I was just thinking.''  
  
Isabel's impatience turned into concern, which he brushed off with a small smile, reassuring her that he was okay. With one last look Isabel went back to her conversation with Tess.  
  
''You okay, Maxwell?'' Michael asked, as if he had read Isabel's mind.  
  
Max nodded, although his eyes wandered back to Liz soon after. Michael followed his gaze just as swiftly, only his eyes rested on Maria.  
  
-x-x-x-  
  
Maria's eyes were fixed on the small trinkets that were hanging from her keys, while she was heading towards her car. Every single one of them had been made by her mom, who made her money by selling these trinkets to local stores and tourists. Maria had gotten one for her birthday ever since her mom found out that she was interested in the paranormal, especially aliens, although Maria hadn't believed in them until she had met Max, Michael and Isabel. They had made her look differently at the green alien heads with their almond shaped eyes and the silver spacecrafts that were jingling with every one of her steps.  
  
She had never been afraid of aliens, but she couldn't picture herself welcoming them with open arms either, unlike most of the UFO freaks in Roswell. And she knew that most of them would probably change their minds if there was even a slight possibility of an actual UFO landing here. Their curiosity would turn into fear within seconds, simply because the thought of actual life on other planets was unknown and unreal to them. Maria had thought about life on other planets on the nights she found herself not being able to sleep. She wondered about what the aliens would look like and in what language they would speak. Things that had been foreign to her until she had met the pod squad, until she had met Michael. An actual alien, a guy who wasn't from this world. Someone who looked just like everybody else and was like every other human being, except for the powers that lay hidden beneath the surface.  
  
Maria smiled, as she thought about how unpredictable Michael really was. Every day he seemed to be another person. Every day he seemed to test her boundaries with his stubbornness, impatience and coolness, but nevertheless her heart still sped up whenever he was around. And sometimes, on Michael's better days, he would throw her one of his laid back smiles, letting her know that he felt the same and that all the fights and arguments didn't matter in the end. He was there when it would count the most and after every fight he would leave, but he always came back. But he didn't come back after their last feud. He had just left, without looking back, making it seem as if he was finally fed up with their relationship.  
  
Maria's smile faded. Her dislike for Tess was evident in her tense features and the anger that flickered in her eyes. Realizing that her keys were hurtfully pressing into the palm of her hand, because she had been holding them so tight, she released them, letting them drop to the ground without thinking. She clenched and unclenched her hand, before lowering herself down in front of her car to retrieve her keys. She reached for them and lifted her head a little, so her hair would fall back into its former place. Her eyes immediately recognized the familiar figure that was being reflected in her car door. She got up swiftly and turned around to face him.  
  
''What are you doing here, space boy?'' Maria asked, pretending not to be affected by Michael's sudden presence and the fact that he was standing only a few feet away from her, closer than he had been for weeks. ''Cause the last time I checked we weren't exactly communicating. Not that we ever were, but you took it to a whole other level.''  
  
''I came to talk,'' Michael responded, his eyes looking directly at her.  
  
Maria crossed her arms and countered his gaze. ''About what?''  
  
''Max.''  
  
Maria rolled her eyes. ''I should have known that the oh so mighty leader would send his messenger boy to try and convince me of his opinion. It's a relief to know that you can't mindwarp people like Tess.''  
  
''Maria,'' Michael warned, on the verge of losing his patience with her.  
  
''Cause otherwise you would probably windwarp me too with your hypothetical voodoo powers and let me commit suicide or something without me knowing it,'' Maria continued, not caring if Michael would lose his temper or not. She wanted him to get angry at her. At least then he would show some emotion towards her.  
  
''I should have known that you would be to stubborn to listen.''  
  
''Listen to what?''  
  
''My proposal,'' Michael said, while taking another step towards her.  
  
''Spill, space boy,'' Maria responded, not intimidated by him at all.  
  
''You and I both know that Max and Liz are.......''  
  
''Heartbroken? Lost without each other? Drowning in their own sorrow?'' Maria interrupted.  
  
Michael glared at her, causing her to remain silent once more. ''Max is thinking about Liz too much, it's affecting him more than he will admit. He's distracted and if we were attacked right now he wouldn't have the focus to win.''  
  
''So, it's all tactics? You don't think that you should help him just because he's your friend?''  
  
''I'm here, aren't I?''  
  
''So, what do you suggest, Mr. Sensitivity?'' Maria asked.  
  
''I think that you should convince Liz to stop blaming Tess for Alex's death, just because she needs someone to blame and is jealous of the fact that Max and Tess do get along.''  
  
Maria shook her head. ''I'm not convincing Liz of something that isn't true.''  
  
''Would you stop being so stubborn,'' Michael said, frustrated at the fact that Maria had to put up such a fight. ''I know that you took Liz's side, because she's your friend and all, but........''  
  
''I chose her side, because she's right!''  
  
Michael sighed and ran both of his hands through his hair. ''Maria, Alex is dead.''  
  
Maria lowered her eyes briefly, before locking eyes with him once more. Her cheeks were flushed with anger and her eyes were raging with a handful of different emotions.  
  
''Don't you think I know that?! Don't you think that I realize that when I wake up every morning or when I look for him during classes? Don't you think that I miss him?'' Maria softly said, causing for Michael's features to slightly soften.  
  
''He was one of my best friends and now he's not here anymore. It hurts, but it isn't blurring the picture that's right in front of me. We had the evidence, Tess knew and I blame her and nobody else for Alex's death.''  
  
Michael nodded, finding peace with her words and knowing that this conversation had gotten him nowhere. It hadn't gotten him closer to Maria. It had just widened the distance between them. It had just increased the longing he felt for her. She was standing so close, but yet he refused to walk over to her and apologize for believing Tess instead of her. He was just as stubborn as her.  
  
''I'll see you around.''  
  
Michael turned around and started to walk in the direction he had come from. Maria watched him for a few seconds, before wiping away a stray tear and getting into her car.  
  
-x-x-x-  
  
Liz had just finished wiping another table, when there was a knock on the door. She dropped her rag, knowing instantly who it was, since only one person would knock before entering the Crashdown, and headed over to the door, while wiping her hands on the side of her uniform. She looked up to see if it was really Max, before opening the door. She took a few steps back to give him more room to enter, although he remained standing in the doorframe, his figure slightly threatening by the darkness that was cascading around him.  
  
''Max, what are you doing here?'' Liz greeted, not wanting to fall into another one of their subtle but hurtful arguments.  
  
Max took another step towards her, causing the light to accentuate only half of his figure. ''I wanted to show you something.''  
  
''What?''  
  
''You will have to come with me in order to see it,'' Max answered, his voice holding no emotions at all.  
  
Liz shook her head, not trusting his words or behavior. ''I can't. I promised my parents that I would lock up.''  
  
''Don't be such a goody-two-shoes,'' Max said, his voice bitter with frustration and impatience.  
  
Liz immediately took a step back, knowing that something wasn't right. Max had never talked to her like this, not even when he had been mad at her. ''Max, are you okay?''  
  
Max flashed her a grin and nodded. ''Yeah, it's just this body..... It's so not me.''  
  
And before her eyes his image started to change. The skin of his face seemed to ripple, creating a new smooth piece of skin with each pulse. Slowly his face returned to its natural form, while he quickly blinked, revealing a pair of grey eyes when he opened them again. And with one quick shake of his head, his hair turned lighter and became slightly longer. When he was done, Liz brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Nothing of Max's image was left, but his clothes.  
  
''Everybody's always changing their image, so I decided to go with the flow, know that I'm saying?'' The man smiled at her, before taking a few more steps towards her. He came to a stop a few feet in front of her and started to pull his sleeves up to his elbow. He wiggled his fingers, before holding them up, with his palms in her direction.  
  
''I have been practicing on this trick for a while now and I want to show it to you. It's not as fancy or elegant as pulling a rabbit out one of those black hats, but it'll do.''  
  
Liz tried to back up some more, but she was caught between him and a table. All she could do was watch as his hands started to glow. First the tip of his fingers and from there it spread throughout the rest of his hands.  
  
''Normally I don't hurt little girls, but you didn't want to come and see the surprise I had for you.''  
  
His hands started to glow even more and the light became so bright, that Liz had to shield her eyes from it with her hands. Subconsciously she placed them with her palms facing his. When she could see nothing but the emerald color of the light, the burning started. It was as if the flames of candles were licking at her skin. It was a slow process. One that made her want to scream, but she didn't. Instead she bit her lip and imagined herself pushing the light away with her hands. At first her hands went right through the green blanket, but with each try she got stronger, until she finally felt it move away from her. The burning stopped and the light started to dim.  
  
Liz's eyes flew open at the sound of a scream. A scream that wasn't hers. The man was now trapped in a green room. One that became smaller with every second. The walls started to push against him, slowly burning him. His screaming stopped, when he realized that he couldn't escape. He just looked at her until both he and the green light disappeared, leaving no evidence for her. Liz forced herself in the direction of the door. She knew that it wouldn't be wise to go outside right now, but she didn't want to be alone. So, after locking the door behind her, Liz ran.....  
  
-x-x-x-  
  
REVIEW! Please? :-) So, this chapter was kind of a pain, because this isn't the original version. I deleted the original version..... by accident. And since I was kinda pissed about that, it took me even longer to finish. So, it's not as good as the other one, but I'm pretty satisfied, especially with the Michael/Maria part, but that's probably just me. Thanks anyway for reading and for reviewing the last chapter. :-) 


	4. Wishing for the Familiar

Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

A/N: Well, finally (!) I wrote another chapter for this story. It took me a while because I temporarily forgot about this story; I was busy working on my Gilmore Girls fics one day when I remembered that this story also existed. :-) So, I apologize for that and I promise to order the mess in my head soon so I won't be able to forget anymore.

* * *

Wishing for the Familiar

Liz brought her hands down upon the door once again, not caring who she would wake with the sound of her frantic knocking. Panic streaked her features where normally rationality and calmness could be found. She kept throwing quick and nervous glances over her shoulder, afraid that someone might suddenly appear out of the nowhere that lurked behind the shadows. She was breathing rapidly because of how high her pace had been while she had been fleeing from the diner where no evidence remained of her crime, although at the moment she couldn't find the peace to care. She was aware that she had killed someone, but how she had done it still remained a mystery, though she had witnessed it with her own eyes.

Finally, she could hear footsteps behind the door and moments later she could feel it shift underneath her hands which she quickly removed and shoved in the pockets of her uniform. When the door opened it revealed a tired and frustrated looking Amy DeLuca, whom's eyes instinctively narrowed at the illumination of the streetlights. It took her longer than necessary to recognize the girl standing just outside the door. When she did, she opened the door completely.

''Liz, what are you doing here? And why are you still wearing your uniform?''

''I was closing up at _The Crashdown_,'' Liz explained.

''Well, that takes care of one question.''

''Yeah, I didn't mean to bother you, but my parents are out of town for a few days so when I heard something suspicious outside I didn't want to stay there.''

''Something suspicious?'' Amy asked now fully awake. ''Are you okay? Do you want me to call Valenti?''

Liz shook her head. ''No, I was just wondering if I could stay the night?''

''Of course you can. Come in.''

''Thank you,'' Liz said as she entered the kitchen.

''I think Maria's sleeping, but you can just go in anyway. There's a sleeping bag in her closet.''

Liz nodded and thanked Amy DeLuca once more before heading to Maria's room, making sure that Amy had gone back into her room before opening the door. She reached for the light switch and flicked it, not giving the darkness a chance to engulf her. When the room was bathing in light she slipped into the room and closed the door behind her, not trying to be quiet because she needed for Maria to wake up and be there for her, especially since she didn't know how to deal with what had happened because it was something alien. Liz walked over to Maria's bed and looked down at her. Maria didn't even so much as stir underneath the weight of Liz's eyes en impatience.

''Maria,'' Liz whispered, watching to see if there was any response. ''Maria.'' With a sigh she bend over a little and gave Maria's sleeping figure a gentle push. This time she did stir and her eyes cracked open, although they were on the verge of closing.

''Liz... go away,'' Maria murmured as she hid her face in her pillow.

''I need to talk to you.''

''About what?''

''Shapeshifters,'' was Liz's answer.

''You're insane.''

''Maria,'' Liz said as she gave her another gentle push. ''I was attacked by one tonight.''

Maria almost instantly lifted her head to look at Liz. ''Are you kidding me because this is not exactly the time for your why-did-the-alien-cross-the-universe-jokes.''

''I swear I'm not kidding.''

''Oh my God,'' Maria said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. ''Are you okay?''

''I don't know; I'm still a little shaken.''

''You should be glad you weren't fried,'' Maria remarked.

''Maria...''

''Right, well, sit down.'' Maria moved to the other side of the bed so Liz could sit down next to her. ''Tell me what happened? Are you sure it was a shapeshifter?''

''Yeah, I mean, at first he looked like Max...''

''Max is a shapeshifter?'' Maria interrupted.

''No!''

''Hey, it's early and I'm confused; Most people would be when you're talking about shapeshifters.''

''The shapeshifter just looked like Max to get to me or something, but I knew something was wrong when Max started to act all weird...''

''You mean alien?''

''Maria,'' Liz said while throwing her friend a stern look.

''I'm sorry, continue. He was acting all weird...''

''Right. He was acting all weird and he was trying to convince me to go outside with him, but I refused and that's when he turned into his regular form.''

''But you said he attacked you, so how did you escape?''

''I pushed his powers away...''

''You pushed his powers away?'' Maria asked while giving Liz a look.

''I know it sounds strange, but I don't know how else to describe it. He attacked me with one of his powers and I just pushed them away.''

''With your hands?''

''Yeah, like I was creating like this invisible shield or something,'' Liz explained.

''You mean one of those things Max can put up?''

Liz nodded. ''Yeah, it protected me. It pushed his powers back towards him until it... burned him.''

''You killed the shapeshifter?''

Liz nodded while lowering her gaze as if she finally realized what she had done. ''Yeah, I killed him. I killed someone, Maria.''

''Hey,'' Maria started as she put her arm around Liz's waist and pulled her into a comforting hug. ''he deserved to be killed. He tried to kill you.''

''You believe me?''

Maria smiled. ''I'm your best friend, I have to believe you.''

''Thanks... What do we do now?''

''We should probably tell one of the Chekoslovakians,'' Maria answered.

''I'm not going to Max.''

Maria sighed. ''You don't have to. We'll go to Micheal.''

''Tomorrow?''

Maria nodded, knowing that Liz could use the rest. ''Tomorrow.''

-x-x-x-

The next morning, they arrived at Michael's apartment an hour before their first classes would start. Neither Liz or Maria had gotten any sleep last night, even though they had tried. Their minds had been too preoccupied with thoughts. Liz couldn't stop thinking about what had happened and Maria had been caught up in her worries about tomorrow's meeting with Michael and what he would think. But now it was too late for doubts and they couldn't turn back, otherwise they would never become any wiser so both Liz and Maria stayed, staring at the door nervously while Maria knocked.

''What?!'' was the first thing they heard, even before the door flew open. When Michael saw them his slight anger turned into frustration as he tried to think of a reason why they were here. ''What do you want?''

''Can we come in?'' Maria carefully asked, although her gaze never faltering from Michael's.

Michael looked at them a little longer before nodding. He held open the door and waited for them to pass before closing it again. He turned around to face the two girls, although his eyes were fixed on Maria as she curiously looked around the apartment, trying to see if anything had changed since she hadn't been in here for a while.

''So... is there a point to your little visit?''

''We wouldn't be here if there wasn't, space boy,'' Maria shot back.

''Actually we were wondering if we could talk?'' Liz cut in. ''See, something happened last night.''

Michael frowned at her words. ''Something happened?''

''Liz was attacked by a shapeshifter,'' Maria quickly said.

''Thank you,'' Liz mumbled, throwing Maria a look as she did this.

''A shapeshifter?'' Michael shifted his gaze over to Liz.

''Yeah, he looked like Max, but changed when I didn't want to leave with him.''

''He looked like Max?'' Michael asked while raising an eyebrow.

''Yeah, and he attacked me.''

''Here comes the freaky part,'' Maria said. ''When he attacked Liz, she didn't get hurt because she pushed his powers away with her own.''

''You have powers?''

Liz nodded. ''I know it sounds crazy, but it was as if I was putting up this shield or something to push his powers back so that they would backfire on him and burn him''

Michael sighed and ran a hand through his locks. ''Look, Liz, I know that you miss Max, but you can't just keep making up stories in the hope that he'll...''

''I'm not making this up,'' Liz said, her tone defensive.

''You have to accept that Tess is one of us and that he has a bond with her. Nothing you'll say or do will change that.''

Liz placed her hands in her pockets and fought the urge to cry as she looked up at Michael. ''Just tell the others, okay? I have to go.''

Maria crossed her arms and glared at Michael as soon as Liz closed the door behind her. ''What's your problem?''

''I could ask you the same.''

Maria shook her head while heading for the door. When she opened it she glanced at Michael once more. ''We used to be friends, all of us.'' With a soft click the door closed behind her.

-x-x-x-

''What do you think, Maxwell?'' Michael asked, pouring some Tabasco over his piece of pizza while casually looking around to see if anyone was near enough to hear them.

Max on the other hand, was just staring at his lunch, hardly paying any attention to his surroundings. His mind was too busy analyzing the situation and trying to come up with a reason and discover how Liz could have just developed powers like that. He knew how her story must have sounded to the others: unreal, but he knew that not everything was what it seemed and that sometimes, things that seemed so crazy and out there were the most real to him.

''Well, I think it's ridiculous,'' Tess said, hoping to say what was really on Max's mind. She had a tendency to do that a little too much, but he never said anything about it. ''She's just trying to find another way to get close to you again, Max.''

Max looked up to briefly meet Tess's eyes that could often convince him of her opinion, but this time he didn't know so he remained silent.

''Yeah, but on the other hand, Max, you and Liz do have a special bond so maybe...''

''Isabel, don't humor Liz,'' Michael said.

''I'm not. I'm just saying that if she did what she said she did then...''

''If,'' Tess interrupted. ''That's the correct word to use because we are obviously talking about something hypothetical and that is made up. We all know that she is human and that she will never be one of us.'' Tess locked eyes with Max. ''I say we let this rest.''

''I agree,'' Michael said. ''Iz?''

''I don't know. I don't think Liz is the kind of person to lie about something like that.''

Tess rolled her eyes. ''All people do foolish things for love, even lie.''

''Fine. We let this rest for now, but if anything else happens we will have no choice but to believe her,'' Max said as he threw a glance in the direction of where Liz was sitting, her hands clasped together in her lap. Tess followed his gaze, but before she could say anything he got up and walked away, letting them know that he had made his decision and that no one would be able to change his mind, not when it came to Liz.

-x-x-x-

Liz looked up from her Biology notes that were meant to take her mind off of things, when the bell rang. She had spent her entire lunch just staring at them, trying to look busy when really she just needed someone to talk to, but the person she wanted to talk to wasn't available. She closed her binder and glanced over at where Max had been sitting, but his seat was empty and instead, she ran into a pair of blue eyes that were looking right at her. Liz quickly lowered her eyes and reached for her bag, watching from the corner of her eye as Tess got up, expecting that she would head for the school, but she didn't. Instead, Tess started to walk over to where Liz was sitting, her eyes confident as she met Liz's once more. Before Tess reached her, Liz got up, wanting to hurry off now that she still had the chance, but Tess stopped her.

''Liz! Wait!''

Liz forced herself to turn around and face her, wondering if Michael had already told them about what had happened.

''I know what you're doing,'' Tess said, answering Liz's unasked question.

''What are you talking about?''

Tess narrowed her eyes. ''Don't act like you don't know. Michael told us about what you told him. No matter what other tricks you have up your sleeve, Max will stay with me.'' She glared at Liz once more before walking off.

Liz tightened her grip on her binder as she tried her hardest not to let herself become upset with Tess's words. After all, she had accepted the fact that she wasn't with Max anymore, but she couldn't deny that it hurt to hear her claim Max like that. With a defeated sigh she made an attempt to turn around, although someone stopped her by grabbing her roughly by the arm. Liz's eyes immediately flew to the person who had grabbed her and gasped when she saw her own reflection in the familiar pair of brown orbs.

''Max.''

Max, however didn't listen to her and pushed her up against the soda machine with one swift movement, his hold never faltering. Once he was satisfied with her position, he started to lean in an brought his mouth up to her ear.

''You should stop lying, Liz.''

As soon as those words escaped his lips, he let her go and headed for the school without looking back.

-x-x-x-

That night, Liz lay on her bed, her clad knees pulled up to her chest as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Trails of tears streaked her cheeks, although she had given up on crying a while ago, she just hadn't bothered to wipe away the evidence. There was no one around to discover it and for that she was grateful. She thought that crying would help her get rid of at least some of the frustration she was feeling, but it hadn't even cracked. The crying had just made it worse, just like the memories of this day had done. No one believed her. Everyone, except Maria, believed that she had made all of it up, even Max had said so. Tears sprung to her eyes as she thought about the fact that maybe, Max was indeed happy with Tess. And this time, she knew that crying wouldn't help at all, but it was the only thing she could do.

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REVIEW! Please? :-) Okay, this chapter didn't even come close to good and that kinda sucks because I always try the best I can when I'm working on a chapter and apparently that wasn't enough for this one. I'll try really hard to work on that. I'm also taking a little time to develop the plot (if there even is one...) and that's why I had to put even more emphasis on the relationship between the humans and the Chekoslovakians :-) Tess is the key... Thanks for the reviews and I hope that did didn't suck too much.


	5. Trigger

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

**A/N: **Hey :-) It took me a little longer than I said to update, but I wanted this chapter to be better than the last one and I think it is. Plus, the plot is close to being fully revealed so hang in there, kay? :-) I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter. _Thank you, Alexia _:-)

* * *

**Trigger**

For the first time in a long while, Max's eyes darkened themselves to a deeper shade of brown as he observed the two familiar figures out in the hallway. He stood just around the corner, hidden from them and free to look at them as long as he wanted before he made himself visible. He knew that there was no reason to spy on either of them, especially because they hadn't been together for almost a year, but today, jealousy did grab a hold of him and he couldn't help but tense up slightly while looking at Liz and Kyle.

A few years ago, jealousy had consumed his every thought because back then, he had hardly ever spoken to Liz and he knew that he was too shy to approach her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hear the rapid beat of his heart, but that she would be able to tell that something was different by the way his eyes would search for hers more frequently. Up until the day he had saved her, they had never had a real conversation and up until then, it seemed as if Liz and Kyle were together. Max was envious of all the time Kyle got to spend with her before he could and of how he still remained friends with Liz. But that feeling of mistrust faded quickly when he realized that Liz was just the kind of person that made friends easily and tried to keep their friendship by giving them the attention they deserved, though she didn't try very hard to contain the relationship they used to have.

Max sighed, realizing that he had just given up on their relationship, too, and somewhere inside, he knew that Tess was one of the reasons. She would spend most of her day with him, just to make sure that he wouldn't jeopardize their destiny for a stupid high school crush, but Max knew that it was so much more. He sometimes still saw the old spark in Liz's eyes and the regret that her features revealed to him. He knew all of this and yet he felt jealous towards the relationship she and Kyle had - jealous because he would give everything to be at least friends with her.

Max brought his gaze up to Liz's face, which showed him once again that things weren't easy for her, either. She looked tired, almost exhausted and her eyes nowadays carried a subtle sadness with them, one she could shade from everyone around her if she only tried. Knowing that most of this was his fault, Max made a decision and entered the hallway, no longer hiding from both Kyle or Liz. He would talk to her, hoping that he would be able to take away some of her pain and maybe some of his at the same time. As he approached them, he saw Kyle say something to Liz and nod in his direction, Liz's eyes, however never found his.

''You have a lot of nerve,'' Kyle murmured under his breath, though Max did hear him, not fully understanding the meaning behind Kyle's words.

''I just came to talk...to Liz.''

''I think you've lost your right to talk to her alone,'' Kyle said, the tone of his voice harsh and defensive.

Liz placed her hand on Kyle's shoulder and briefly looked up at him. ''Why don't you go ahead, I'll be right there.''

Kyle shook his head. ''No.''

''Kyle...''

He sighed. ''Fine, but remember that this is a public place, Evans.'' He reached for the strap of his bag while shooting Max a glare before walking off and leaving Liz alone with him.

''Why are you here, Max?'' Liz asked, colder than she had intended. She kept rummaging through her locker, hoping that he would just give up and leave.

''What's wrong?''

Liz didn't say anything for a few seconds, taking the time to close her locker and prepare herself for coming eye to eye with Max. She turned around and looked up at him, meeting his eyes, though she would have rather walked away from this conversation.

''I'm afraid to answer that question,'' she confessed.

''Why?'' Max's eyes now stood confused.

''Because I don't know what to say. Last time you...'' She stopped when Max took a step towards her, frozen in her own fear, though she recovered as well as she could and stumbled a few steps back.

''Liz...''

''Don't,'' she warned. ''You made it perfectly clear that you don't want me around...''

''I never...''

''No?!'' Liz said, angry with him for pretending that he had done nothing wrong. ''Then threatening me and pushing me against a vending machine wasn't meant to have that effect?!'' When people around them started to throw glances in their direction, Liz lowered her voice, trying to calm herself down in the process with no success.

''God.'' She ran a hand through her hair. ''First Tess threatens me and then you.''

''Liz, what are you talking about?'' Max asked, the tone of his voice desperate because he didn't understand what she was talking about.

Liz shook her head, disappointed at his behavior and maybe even more hurt by it than she was letting shine through. ''I never expected you to be like this just to keep me away from you...and I never expected to be actually afraid of you, so I guess your threats worked; I'll stay away from you.''

Liz turned around and walked off, leaving Max leaning against a locker because her words had shocked him so. He hadn't comprehended everything that she had said, but it had definitely left him with a pain that stung deeply. As the bell rang, his eyes flew across the hallway, looking for someone he could talk to, maybe even Maria, but instead his eyes collided with Tess's blue eyes that always stood dangerously happy. For some reason his intuition was telling him that she was the key to Liz's outburst and he followed it by heading over to her, calling her name in the process.

''Can I talk to you?'' he asked, though he hadn't meant it as a question. He wasn't going to give her a choice this time.

''Actually, I have class right now...''

''It's important,'' Max said while grabbing her arm and forcing her in the opposite direction of where they were heading. Max had another destination in mind, a more private one. He led her to the eraser room, not letting her go until he had closed the door behind them. When he did let her go, he did it roughly, causing her to stumble and search for her balance in this dark room.

''Max,'' she whimpered as she found her balance and looked up at him, her eyes now gleaming with feigned innocence, ''what's wrong?''

''I suggest you stop with the act, Tess,'' Max said, his voice dangerously low and his figure intimidating as he stood in front of her only way out.

''Act? Max, are you okay?'' she asked gently.

''Tess, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be honest.''

''Of course.''

''What's wrong with Liz?'' Max asked, trying not to lose his patience and temper, though Tess drove it to the edge when she snorted.

''How should I know, I'm not one of her friends.''

''So you don't know why she acted nervous when I talked to her?'' he asked, taking a step towards Tess.

Tess shrugged. ''You know she has a crush on you, maybe...'' She stopped when Max clenched his fists at her words.

''Why did you threaten her?''

''Excuse me?''

''Tess...,'' he warned, the tone of his voice alarmingly close to losing its calmness.

''I didn't threaten her.'' Tess crossed her arms. ''I just told her what she already knew, that you and I are destined to be and that she should stop lying to get you back because it won't work.''

''Why?''

''To put her in her place.''

''To put her in her place,'' Max mumbled as he repeated Tess's words. ''Is that what I did to her, too, put her in her place...'' He approached Tess even more and slowly backed her up against the wall. ''...when I threatened her?''

''I wanted to help.''

''Help?''

''It was for her own good,'' Tess said, keep up her act by pretending not to be intimidated by him. She kept appearances up by looking him in the eyes and keeping her arms crossed.

''Tess, she seemed scared of me.''

''She should be; you are much more powerful than her, after all, she's a human.''

''Exactly!'' Max said, ''She is a human and on this planet we are the outsiders.''

''But we have the power, Max.''

''We are still half human. We feel just like Liz and we're not superior to humans just because we have powers.''

''But we are,'' Tess said.

''No, we're not!'' He placed both of his hands on the wall behind her on the opposite sides of her head, causing her to flinch.

''Max...''

''If you ever threaten Liz or mindwarp her like that again...''

''She is not your destiny, Max, I am.''

Max didn't say anything and just looked at her, silently warning her. ''I have to get to class,'' he said before moving away from her and exiting the eraser room.

-x-x-x-

A few hours later, Max found himself staring at Liz through the windows of _The Crashdown_, realizing that she was so different from Tess, both in looks and personality. She would have never done what Tess had done today, not even if she had been in Tess's shoes. She would never lie if it had deceit as a consequence and if she did lie, it was to make other people feel better, so maybe he should believe her so called stories because he was close to.

He pushed open the door of the diner and went in, heading straight for the counter where she had been these last couple of minutes.

''Liz,'' he said once he reached the counter.

Her head shot up instantly as a gasp escaped her lips. ''Max,'' she said while taking a few steps back, not realizing that she was hurting him by doing so.

''Can I talk to you?''

''Actually, I'm busy.''

Liz wanted to walk away, but Max stopped her by leaning slightly over the counter and gently locking his fingers around her wrist. ''Five minutes, please?''

She met his eyes briefly before nodding. ''We can go into the back.''

''Thank you.''

Max let go of her and followed her into the storage room where he was left to stand by the door while Liz stood a good couple of feet away from him, her arms protectively crossed in front of her chest.

''What do you want, Max?''

''I wanted to apologize, even though I'm not sure I did anything wrong.'' He took a step towards her which she countered by taking a step back.

''Max...''

''Tess is the one who threatened you, not me,'' Max started, ''though you did think it was me because of the image that Tess provided.''

''You mean, she...she tricked me into believing that it was you?'' Liz asked, her brown eyes looking up at him with shock.

Max nodded. ''I already told her that if she ever does it again, she'll have to deal with me. I didn't know that she was going to do that, Liz, and I'm sorry that she did... Did you really think that I would every hurt you on purpose?''

Liz rubbed her arms with her hands as she lowered her eyes in shame because she had thought that he would be capable of doing just that. ''I didn't used to, but lately you just seem foreign to me, Max... I don't know what to think anymore. I mean, all of you have assumed that I was lying about being attacked and, well, you know.''

''I do.'' Max looked at her. ''I should go.'' He placed one hand on the door, wanting to leave, but just before he did, he turned to look at her once more. ''And if you do have powers, find out what triggers them. You'll have proof if you do.''

He left Liz standing there with a smile.

-x-x-x-

After closing up _The Crashdown_, Liz went up to her room to lay down on her bed. The smile had stayed with her throughout the rest of the afternoon and had only just faded; instead, she was thinking of what Max had said. She had to find out what triggered her powers, if she did that then everyone had to believe her and had to believe that she wasn't making up stories to get closer to Max, though she admitted that it felt good to have Max on her side again.

She leaned back against her pillows and fought back the smile that was struggling to get through. She had to focus on her powers instead and she did. She went back to the night of the attack, reliving it all over again. Every word the shapeshifter had said, every move he had made, every move she had made. She tried to think of what she felt when he had attacked her and tried to experience that same feeling again. Liz closed her eyes and went through her mind like she would flip through pages in a book, looking for the correct one. And when she had reached the end of the story, her eyes flew open and down to her hands. She smiled. Green light seemed to be floating just half an inch above the palms of her hands. Fear was the trigger.

When there was a knock on her window, she quickly closed her hands and opened them again, revealing nothing out of the ordinary. She got up from her bed, excited and slightly confused to how exactly she had gotten these powers. Liz unlatched her window, already knowing who it was.

''Max, I know what...'' She stopped mid-sentence when she realized that it wasn't Max after all. A gasp escaped her before she could utter his name.

''Nicholas...''

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**REVIEW! Please? :-) **Well, at least Max and Liz are talking again and Liz knows what triggers her powers...it always has to get even worse before it can get better. :-) Anyway, let me know how I did on this chapter. I'm not sure if everyone is in character so I apologize for that. Thanks again for the kind reviews and I'll update asap. :-) Oh, and if you have the time, check out my original short story at fictionpress. It's called _Never Never Land _and my penname over there is smile4theworld. 

**2 anonymous: **Thanks for your ideas, but I won't be using them. I have already worked out this plot and I don't have any gaps that need to be filled. I hope you understand, but I did appreciate it. :-)


	6. Broken Cocoon

Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

A/N: I'm getting the hang of this updating thing, aren't I? :-) Probably because I actually have the time to write as much as I want. :-) Please check out the A/N at the bottom and until then, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter which _Alexia _beta-ed for me. Thanks :-)

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Broken Cocoon

Liz opened her eyes to a veil of green light, the same shade that would appear whenever she felt afraid and would act like some sort of shield as it was doing right now, though she didn't know from what it was protecting her. It surrounded her like four walls and made her feel caught in a way. That feeling added to the fear she was feeling, causing her heart to speed up just a little more and the shade of green to intensify as if another layer had wrapped itself around the already existing ones. She looked at the green wall in front of her and wondered what it would feel like. She hadn't had the opportunity to really observe the force field before.

Liz moved closer towards the sea of green, expecting to feel something, heat or maybe a sudden coldness that would wash over her, but instead she felt nothing as she approached it. Once she was standing only a few inches away from the wall, she carefully reached out her hand to touch it. When her fingers came in contact with it, her finger tips slipped right through the green shield. At first, she felt nothing, but liquid flowing through her fingers, reminding her the most of paint, but after a few seconds, a shiver ran through her. It was freezing. It was as if ice had remained in a state of defrosting together with the temperature that never seemed to change.

She pulled her hand back and brought it up to her face. She placed it against the side of her face, sprawling out her fingers against her cheek. Another shiver chilled her to the bone and it seemed as if she was frozen, unable to move, though it lasted only a second or two. Her eyes went back to the shield, her hand dropping back to her side. She narrowed her eyes and tried to peer through the force field which she couldn't, though it was somewhat transparent. To her, it looked the most like matted glass.

Liz found herself wondering if she could walk straight through it. A stupid thought because she remembered that she had created this small protective room and if she could put up these walls then she could also take them down. So she closed her eyes, but before she could will herself to do anything, a flash of pain struck her, slicing through her mind first before it moved on to the rest of her body, its colors red and black, though she could only see them in the distance through her mind's eye. Another flash of pain followed without a warning of some kind and it started to force her eyes to open, slowly at first, but when Liz couldn't take it anymore her eyes flew open before she could stop herself.

At first, her lashes blurred the image in front of her and she couldn't make out anything else but a figure, but after blinking a couple of times, her vision was cleared and she could see the figure in front of her perfectly. Nicholas. He was kneeled in front of her, looking directly into her eyes. She tried to say his name, but no sound came out. She realized that her lips weren't touching and that something was stopping her from closing her mouth; something was stuffed in it to keep her from screaming. Panicked, she tried to bring her hands up in front of her, but was stopped from doing so because they seemed to be tied together at the wrists. She could feel them pressing into her back and now that she had become aware of it, she realized the tingling feeling in her hands. She wondered how long she had been sitting like this. She tried to move away from Nicholas, but her back and hands were already against the wall and from what she could fee,l it was rough. Quickly, she brought her eyes up and looked around the place. It rang a familiar bell in the distance, but she couldn't distinguish the sound just yet.

Her eyes traveled back over to Nicholas who smiled at her. He leaned in, hovering over her, though she knew that she was in fact taller than him, and reached for her face with his hands. When she tried to turn her head away, he grabbed her by the chin so that she was forced to look at him while he pulled the piece of cloth he had stuffed in her mouth earlier out of it. He let go of her face once he had done this and looked at her as she started to cough because of the large amount of air she had just swallowed.

''Where are we?'' she managed to utter through her heavy gasping breaths.

Nicholas tilted his head and looked at her. ''I don't have to tell you where we are; you know where we are.''

Liz shook her head as her eyes quickly looked over her surroundings once more. She knew that she had been here before, but she couldn't seem to remember the name of it.

Nicholas sighed. ''I'll give you a hint.'' He nodded in the direction of the darker side of the cave where Liz had to get adjusted to the dim light first before she could make out the outlines of what looked like four cocoons... Once again, a familiar bell rang and this time she could identify it.

''The Pod Chamber,'' she whispered, realizing that that was indeed where he had taken her. ''You took me to the Pod Chamber, why?'' Her eyes found Nicholas once again. ''How did you...''

''How did I find you?'' Nicholas asked, mimicking the question that Liz had on her mind. He shrugged. ''It was easy, though I have to admit that I thought it would be much harder to find you. Of course, I knew where that little diner of yours was and your school, but you never seemed to be alone, vulnerable.'' He grinned. ''So I made a deal with someone to follow you and show himself to you when you were finally alone.''

''The Shapeshifter, that was you? But you...''

Nicholas frowned. ''I'm a Skin and he was a Shapeshifter, I know and normally I don't make deals with their species, but I needed the help and he was all I could find in such short time. He was ordered to bring you back to me, but of course, the imbecile failed, but then again, he was a Shapeshifter, so what could you expect, right?''

Nicholas got up and started to pace right in front of her, glancing at her every now and then. ''He ended up being useless and a waste of my time, but luckily for me, the fool was smarter than he looked. He had asked one of his friends to keep a look out while he approached you, just in case one of your alien friends might show up and, well, kill him and he did get killed, but not by any of your alien friends, did he?'' He shook his head. ''No, no. See, the friend of the Shapeshifter that you killed...'' he paused a few seconds for the effect, ''told me that you had killed him. Apparently the other Shapeshifter just vanished. But we both know that that's not true...''

Nicholas stopped pacing and turned to face her. ''You killed him, didn't you? And not with some human object, but with actual powers that you didn't have the last time I checked so I'm guessing that something must have happened between you and Max. He must have transferred a part of his powers over to you when he healed you, a small part, but just big enough apparently.''

Liz looked down at her hands.

''Yes, that's why I tied your hands. I didn't know that you could control your powers with your hands, but most powers are controlled like that so I guessed. See, Liz, I can smell power from miles and miles away, I seem to have a knack for that and as you can see, it comes in handy.''

Liz looked up at him, her eyes questioning. ''Why did you take me?''

''Well,'' Nicholas started as he ran his middle finger over his bottom lip, ''I took you because I knew that I would be able to get to Max like this and if I can get to Max, I can get to Isabel. It's as simple as that.''

''But...''

''Shhh,'' Nicholas said while leaning forward and placing his middle finger against her lips, ''I know you think that Max only has eyes for Tess, but that's all an act...''

''An act?''

Nicholas removed his finger from her lips and cheerfully smiled at her. ''Let's just say that I made a deal with the devil. Now...'' He walked over to a backpack that was lying near and removed a camera, from what Liz could tell it was a Polaroid camera. ''...smile pretty.''

He held up the camera and aimed at her, taking her picture almost immediately. He waited for the picture to develop and when it did and he was happy with the result, then grabbed the piece of cloth and put it back in her mouth. His movements were slow enough for Liz to notice that the cloth had the same color has her shirt. She dropped her eyes down to her shirt, immediately finding the place at the lower half of her stomach where it had been ripped off. She placed a hand on top of her bare stomach while bringing her eyes back up to Nicholas.

''Well, I hate to leave you like this, but I have to go and deliver this.'' He held up the picture. ''Just stay put and I'll be back soon.'' He blew her a kiss and left the chamber.

-x-x-x-

The next morning, Maria was swept out of her deep slumber because of the feather light touch of the breeze as it brushed against her skin. It trailed all over her face, tickling her until she finally opened her eyes, though they were threatening to close again at any given second. She shifted in her bed, trying not to lose the protective cocoon of warmth in which she was still wrapped as she turned on her side to glance over at her window. She might have had trouble in keeping her heavy eyelids from shutting, but she was awake enough to know where the breeze must have been coming from. She couldn't remember if she had closed her window or not, but when she found it open, she could have sworn that she had closed it; she always did. With a yawn, she let her eyes fall down to the windowsill, planning on going back to sleep, but stopped when she saw the white rose.

It took her only a few seconds to get out of bed and cross her room. As she approached the windowsill, she couldn't take her eyes off the rose and a part of her was hoping that it was from Michael, though she knew that she shouldn't get her hopes up because he wasn't the kind of guy to leave her flowers. She picked up the rose and brought it up to her nose, inhaling its sweet scent before picking up the thick piece of paper that had come with it. As she flipped it over, she knew that it was too thick to be just a simple note and once her eyes had found the image, she instantly knew that it was so much more.

''Liz,'' she softly said as she took in the image of her best friend before her, tied up with something stuffed in her mouth.

Maria brought a hand up to her mouth to keep from screaming and dropped the picture because of the state of panic she now found herself in. She watched it flutter to the floor as she stumbled towards her desk, the rose still in one hand. She blindly reached for her vial of cedar oil and started to unscrew the top as she backed up in the direction of her bed. She sat down on it and took a couple of sniffs of cedar oil to calm herself, preparing herself mentally before she pulled at the ribbon that attached a small note to the flower. With her vial of cedar oil still in hand she read the note.

Meet your friends at The Crashdown and wait for me, unless you would want this beautiful rose to die.

Both the note and vial slipped from Maria's hands in her haste to reach the phone. She dialed the first number that came to mind in rapid speed.

''Michael? Liz has been kidnapped,'' Maria blurted out as soon as she heard Michael's voice on the other end of the line telling her just how early it was, but he stop when he heard how serious she sounded, how strained her voice seemed.

''No, no it's not a joke, I swear. I...I got a note.'' The first tears fell. ''Everyone has to meet at _The Crashdown_... The note says so and I think we should.''

A short silence fell on her side of the line as she listened to Michael talk. ''No, Michael, can you please just call the others and tell them to meet me there? I'm...yeah...no, you don't have to pick me up, I can still drive... I am not having a breakdown! ...Right, thanks. I'll see you there.''

Maria hung up the phone and retrieved her vial of cedar oil so she could take another sniff.

-x-x-x-

Maria was the last one to reach _The Crashdown_, her hands shaking and her bottom lip trembling as she stumbled through the doors of the diner.

''I'm sorry, I know I'm late. I did leave early, but there were cars on the road and every traffic light seemed to turn red as soon as I looked at them and I couldn't just ignore them because I can't get any more tickets. I really tried to get here as fast as I could, I swear,'' she said with fresh tears in her eyes as she looked at the others.

''Maria,'' Max gently said, knowing that he should be more concerned for Maria, but he had been worrying about Liz the moment Michael had called him and told him the horrible news.

''Right, proof, of course,'' Maria mumbled as she pulled the note and the picture from the back pocket of her jeans, ''otherwise you wouldn't believe me, but I'm really not making up any stories. Here.'' She handed the evidence over to Isabel who was the closest and it took only moments for her to react and for the others to huddle around her, unable to take their eyes off the picture.

''Oh God,'' Isabel said while bringing her hand up to her mouth.

''Liz,'' Kyle said, taken back by the image.

Max snatched the picture from Isabel's hand and took a step towards Maria. ''Maria, how did you...''

''I found them on my windowsill this morning,'' Maria interrupted, ''attached to a rose. I didn't know what to do so I called Michael.''

''You did the right thing,'' Kyle assured her.

''Did you see anyone?'' Max asked.

Maria shook her head. ''No, I didn't see anyone.''

''Are you sure?'' Max asked as she moved even closer to Maria, almost pushing for her to remember something she hadn't noticed at first. ''Because it was early and...''

''I'm sure,'' Maria said, her tears now trickling down her cheeks at a frequent pace. ''Liz is my best friend and when I saw the picture, I thought that it was some kind of joke, but then I found the note and it was...,'' She broke down into sobs, ''we have to find her.''

Max reached out his hand, wanting to comfort her as best as he could, but Michael stepped up to Maria instead. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up against him so she could hide her face in his chest and let her tears run freely.

''She doesn't look hurt,'' Tess remarked, finally saying something, though she didn't even get a good look at the picture.

''It doesn't matter, I'm going to beat the shit out of that son of a-''

But Kyle didn't get to finish his sentence because he was interrupted by the doors of the diner as they flew open...

* * *

REVIEW! Please? :-) At first I wasn't really sure about this story because I wasn't sure about the plot, my writing, the characters and all that, but now that I'm looking at this chapter, I realize that it hasn't turned out as bad as I thought it would. I'm even somewhat satisfied with my writing. All of that satisfaction I have to give you guys credit for, partially anyway. Thanks again for the reviews and I'll hope you'll do the same with this chapter.

Before you guys leave, I have one more thing to say. I just posted the prologue to my original story on fictionpress and I was wondering if you could check it out, if you have the time and interest, of course. The link is in my biography or whatever you call that. :-) Thanks! :-)


	7. Hold On

Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

A/N: Be sure to check out the message at the bottom of the chapter. And thanks to _Alexia _for beta-ing...again! Thanks :-)

* * *

Hold on

The doors of the diner flew open and a breeze came swiveling in - a breeze that was too gentle to force open the doors like that. Maria took a step back, pulling Michael with her because she was still clinging to him. The breeze, though it was of a usual morning temperature, felt cold to them and sent chills creeping down their spines, speeding up their heartbeats with every inch they slithered downwards. A silence took over as their breaths seemed to have caught in their throats because of the fear that had revealed itself to them, though some managed to hide it well. They could hear their own heartbeats echo within their ears, causing their hands to shake and bodies to tremble, afraid of who would walk through the doors and the message they would bring. They listened as hard as they could for something out of the ordinary, but all they could hear was the rustling of the leaves and the sounds of cars passing by. Everything seemed normal, but they knew that nothing around them was. Finally, one of them picked up a pair of approaching footsteps and he signaled for the others to be on their guards. It took only seconds for a familiar figure to enter - a figure that made them narrow their eyes and clench their fists, ready for a fight.

''Nicholas,'' Max said, the tone of his voice reflecting the anger that was now racing through his body. ''Where's Liz?'' He took a step towards the Skin, but came to a sudden halt when he raised one of his hands and sending him a warning look.

''I didn't come here to pick a fight with you.''

''You took Liz so it's kind of too late to play nice, don't you think?'' Kyle said as he glared over at Nicholas.

Nicholas snorted and looked at Kyle with a look of disdain on his face. ''You know, I could just simply kill you, but that would be a waste of my powers.'' Nicholas turned his head and met Maria's eyes, causing her to tighten her grip on Michael's shirt. ''The same goes for you, princess.''

Michael's eyes darkened at Nicholas's words and it took all the willpower he had to keep him from going up to Nicholas and punching him, wanting to feel his skin against his fist as he brought it down on his face.

''The truth is, I could have killed Liz if I wanted to and I would have, but because I needed her to get to you,'' Nicholas paused to turn his head and lock eyes with Max, smiling at the anger in them, ''I spared her. If only she knew how much you cared.'' He caught Tess out of the corner of his eyes as she crossed her arms, a look of envy barely meeting her face.

''Can I kill him now, Maxwell?'' Michael asked, clenching and unclenching his fists just to keep his hands occupied; he felt his blood boiling with fury, knowing that he would lose control of his powers if he stopped holding on to his patience.

Nicholas laughed at Michael's words. ''You can try, but I can't promise you that your girlfriend will be alive once you reach me.''

''Michael,'' Maria started, shooting one of her death glares in Nicholas's direction, ''kill him. I'll be fine, trust me.''

Tess took a step towards Maria, but stopped when she saw Nicholas glare at her. She nodded and once again blended in with the rest of the scene.

''No,'' Max said firmly. ''He said that he didn't come to fight and since he hasn't attacked anyone yet...''

''Not physically anyway,'' Maria murmured.

''...since he hasn't attacked anyone yet, I suggest we let him answer our questions,'' Max finished.

Nicholas sighed. ''Fine.''

''Where's Liz?'' Maria asked, letting go of Michael and taking a step towards Nicholas.

''She's safe.''

''Why should we believe you?''

Nicholas eyes lit up at the sound of the familiar voice and smiled. ''Vilandra...''

''Actually, I go by Isabel now,'' she returned, crossing her arms and looking directly at him as he approached her. ''Why should we believe you?''

Nicholas rolled his eyes. ''Did she have any scratches on her in the picture? Was she bleeding?'' When no one said anything, his smile turned into a grin. ''There's your answer. Your precious Liz is safe and sound, don't worry too much about it.''

Max gritted his teeth at Nicholas's answer. ''How do we get her back?''

''Yeah, what do you want, Junior?'' Kyle asked.

''Vilandra, of course,'' Nicholas asked. ''Still beautiful as ever.'' He reached out his hand to touch her, but Isabel turned her head away, taking a few steps back at the same time. He pulled his hand back and smiled. ''I suggest we make a trade.''

Michael shook his head. ''No.''

Nicholas looked over at him. ''Still protective of your bride, aren't you?''

Michael was about to answer, but Isabel cut him off. ''Let's hear him out. We want Liz back, don't we?'' When no one said anything, she nodded. ''You were talking about a trade?''

''I never knew you were such a good negotiator. Guess you do learn something new every day.''

''Cut the small talk, Nicholas,'' Isabel said.

Nicholas nodded. ''As you wish, my dear.'' He turned around so he was facing the rest, too. ''I want to trade Liz for Vilandra so I can take her home with me to Antar.''

''No,'' Max said, loud enough this time for everyone to hear.

''You do want Liz back, don't you? In one piece?'' Nicholas said. When Max didn't say anything he continued. ''If you do, then you'll meet me tonight at the Pod Chamber. Let's say around eight-ish?''

Max remained silent as he thought about what Nicholas had just said. He was caught up in his thoughts and Nicholas knew exactly what he was thinking about.

''And before you let your thoughts wander even more, I never said that I was keeping Liz at the Pod Chamber and if you even so much as come near it before it's time, I'll know and Liz will also know, trust me... So, do we have a deal?''

Once again Max shook his head. ''No, I won't choose between Isabel and Liz, you don't deserve that.''

''Max,'' Tess said, surprising everyone because she hadn't said anything since Nicholas had entered _The Crashdown_, ''take the deal.''

Nicholas nodded at her. ''I knew there had to be at least one smart one in this group. Now, I would love to stay and chat, but unfortunately, Liz is waiting for me. I'll see you all tonight.''

As soon as Nicholas disappeared from the diner, Max turned around and roughly grabbed Tess by her arms, not caring that his grip was just a little too tight.

''What made you think that you could say yes to his offer? There are things to take into consideration, Tess! Isabel's safety, Liz's safety! Were you even thinking about that?!''

''You're hurting me,'' Tess said. ''Let me go.''

'''Not until you tell us what exactly you were thinking to sacrifice one for the other.''

''We are not going to sacrifice anyone. I have a plan! Now let go of me!''

Max hesitantly let go of her. ''A plan?''

Tess nodded. ''We'll do as he asked, we'll meet him at the Pod Chamber and we take Isabel, but we won't trade her. We won't have to.''

''What do you mean?'' Isabel curiously asked.

''I can use my powers to make him believe that he is seeing Isabel and while I keep him busy, you can get Liz,'' Tess explained.

''That's an excellent plan!'' Maria remarked. ''And it'll work, right, Max?''

''Yeah, it'll work,'' he answered, eyeing Tess.

''Okay, so we have a plan. Now all we have to do is wait,'' Kyle said.

''Wait,'' Maria repeated. ''Is that what we do until then?''

Max shook his head. ''No, we should just go to school. It'll make the time go faster.''

''Maybe for you,'' Maria said, ''but it'll just make me more nervous. I'll just call in sick and be nervous where no one else can see and ask questions about it.''

Max nodded, understanding what she meant and also knowing how Maria could get.

Maria looked over at Michael. ''Michael, would you mind if I stayed at your place? My mom's probably home and...''

Michael made her stop talking by reaching for her hand and entwining their fingers, causing her to smile. She handed him the keys to her car.

''You better drive.''

Max watched them walk out of the diner hand in hand, an image that made him regret every fight he ever had with Liz. He knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to Liz. He was distracted from his thoughts when he felt a hand place itself in his - a hand he grabbed a hold of because he needed the comfort.

''She'll be okay, Max.''

He turned his head and locked eyes with Tess for a couple of seconds, wishing that it was someone else.

* * *

REVIEW! Please? :-) Okay, so this chapter wasn't that evenful, but crucial to the upcoming chapters because of the deal they made. And I know that Tess didn't really a say a lot in this chapter, but that does have a purpose and she did come up with the plan to save Liz, right?

This seemed to have become a standard message at the bottom of every one of my fics, but I am just saving you the 'agony' of wondering... Anyway, for anyone of you that cares, I also updated my Trory _Torn_, my new Lit _Homeboy _and I put up a new Trory one parter, _Follow My Lead. _So, if you have the time or interest... Thanks :-)


	8. Fooled

Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

A/N: Hey! :-) I know, it has been a while since I updated this story, but school recently started again and, well, let's just say that I don't have to worry anymore about what I'm going to do with all my time. :-) I hope you'll like this chapter because I have spent a great deal of time working on it and adding things here and there so it would be to my liking. (as much as possible anyway.) Be sure not to skip the A/N at the bottom and the beta-ed version will be up asap.

* * *

Fooled

Two headlights lit up the arid desert ground, a shade of burnt sienna for a handful of seconds as Max's jeep came to an abrupt halt. Another pair of headlights followed as Maria's Jetta was parked right behind it. Both cars were turned off at the same time, their lights dimming to a grim darkness and their engines suddenly silencing, though no car doors were opened, not yet. Michael didn't mind the extra time or the silence - a silence that was only disturbed every now and then by the ghostly howling of the wind and the grains of sand as they were stirred, resulting in a steady grating sound - a sound he liked to listen to; it soothed him, calmed him in a way that nothing else could, not even Max. It was a silence that almost didn't seem of this earth, a silence where every whisper could be heard and every thought could be sensed.

There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Nicholas knew they were here. Michael could always feel it when one of his kind was around; an electrifying shiver warned him every time. Their movements were more cautious and calculated, not wanting to risk the possibility of standing out from a crowd. He had lived like that for the first few years of his existence, under Max's wing. It had made him feel safe to not be alone and to be looked after, but he had become independent soon enough and hadn't let anyone come close; he had learned how to keep people at a distance, though Maria had come close to nearing him. It were the emotions that blurred his vision - emotions that had made him weak and his guard falter, allowing her to near him, inching closer to him with every day that past.

Michael looked over at the jeep, making sure that he didn't get too tangled up in his thoughts. Tess and Max seemed to be talking, going over their plan once more by Max's request probably. He shifted his gaze over to the backseat where Isabel and Kyle sat listening and waiting. Isabel was listening more closely than Kyle by the way her lips had pulled back into a thin line and the cold look in her eyes - so cold that somewhere during the ride here, she had reached over for Kyle's hand, loosely entangling their fingers. There was no need to hide her fear from him when he was one of the only people that had the ability to see right through her.

Michael averted his gaze, feeling as if he had invaded their subtle intimacy in a way, trespassing by simply stealing a glance. He looked over at Maria whom he could look at as long as he chose to. All this time she had been looking out of the window while absently toying with the vial of cedar oil between her fingers. He had a good guess of where her thoughts had wandered to. She was worried about Liz, just like everyone else, only it was her closest friend and every time her pondering edged near even so much as the possibility of Liz being hurt, tears would appear in her eyes, glazing them with sadness. She wasn't as strong as Max and couldn't hide it as well.

He looked at her hands once more. Her nail polish was chipped because it had been neglected these last couple of days. Michael wanted to reach out and grab her hand, clasp it within his fingers, but before he could make an attempt, he heard a car door open and it took him only seconds to do the same, Maria mimicking his actions at a slightly slower pace. He waited for her to get out of the car before heading over to where the others were standing. Max's hands were placed calmly in his pockets only to hide the opposite, his eyes intently fixed on Isabel's face as if they were silently going over the plan once more. Michael and Maria didn't say anything as they joined the others in a messy circle, knowing that the silence would be broken soon enough.

Max lowered his eyes to the ground as he shuffled with his feet, hesitating before looking directly at Tess. She nodded and hooked her fingers in her back pockets before speaking. ''We decided that it would be best if only Isabel and I went up to the Pod Chamber.'' Both Kyle and Michael wanted to object, but Tess didn't give them the chance to. ''No one will be at risk. I'll windwarp Nicholas into believing that he is seeing Vilandra before he can suspect why the rest of you aren't there.''

''Why does Isabel have to come?'' Kyle asked, searching for Tess's eyes with his own, missing the small smile that appeared on Isabel's face for the slightest of seconds.

''I have to be near Nicholas to be able to get control of his mind. Isabel will be the distraction. Don't worry, nothing will happen to her.''

''And you'll get Liz?'' Maria's question immediately followed. She didn't trust Tess, she never had.

''They'll get Liz,'' Max answered while throwing Tess a look.

Maria nodded and held out her hand which Michael instantly grabbed, giving her the comfort she sought.

''Okay then. I guess we better get this over with,'' Isabel said, looking over at Tess who nodded and detached herself from the small group quickly. Isabel watched Tess head over to the sandy path that would lead them to the cave first before following, gently brushing past Kyle's shoulder with her own on her way. Tess slowed down her pace so she could catch up with her easily, but Max's movements were quicker than Isabel's as he took a few strides towards her and grabbed her by the arm, silently asking her to turn around which she did. Isabel looked up and met her brother's eyes.

''Are you sure about this, Iz? You don't have to do this if you don't want to; we'll find another way to rescue Liz.''

Isabel smiled at her brother's heroism. She couldn't remember when he hadn't been like this, so caring towards other people, so gentle and strong at the same time. She nodded. ''I'm sure, Max. We'll be back before you know it, Liz included so don't kill yourself worrying, okay?''

Max nodded, his expression serious as he let go of her arms. He looked over at Tess who was waiting. ''You two have ten minutes. If you two take a second more Michael and I will come and get you.''

''I know,'' Isabel said before turning around and hurrying over to Tess, not bothering to explain why Max had stopped her and what words were exchanged between them.

Max watched the two girls disappear with ease into the night, blending back into the silence as if it has never been disturbed. He turned around, his back now facing the sandy path they had followed and waited, his gaze on Michael whom's own eyes were on the watch he always wore, his fingers still locked around Maria's.

Kyle started to pace, back and forth he went as the minutes past. None of them had dared to break the silence that had formed between them, but after eight minutes, both Max and Michael cried out and reached for their heads. Michael's hand pulled itself from Maria's and Max's left the comfortable resting place of his back pocket.

''Michael?'' Maria softly said, her expression streaked with concern and confusion.

Kyle stopped pacing and turned to look at the two aliens reaching for their heads first before letting their hands slide down to their ears. ''Are you two okay?''

''What's happening?'' Maria looked from Kyle to Max before bringing her gaze back to Michael. ''Michael, what's wrong?''

''It's Isabel,'' Max said. ''I can hear her screaming in my head. Something's wrong.''

Michael was the first to remove his hands from his ears, letting them know that the screaming had stopped. He looked at Max, his decision already made. ''We're going up there to get her, Maxwell.''

Max nodded, letting Michael brush past him without saying a word. Kyle made an attempt to follow, but he stopped him. ''You have to stay here, Kyle.''

''Look, I know I'm not an alien and I can't blast people and stuff, but I do know how to fight.''

''This has nothing with you being able to fight or not. This is about your safety and ours,'' Max said while gesturing towards him and Michael. ''If something goes wrong you and Maria will be able to get away and get help.''

Kyle nodded, understanding what Max was saying. ''Okay.''

Max turned around and started to run, not stopping until both he and Michael had reached the entrance of the Pod Chamber. Max opened it, not caring if Nicholas had heard them or not. The moment he entered the cave he quickly looked around the cave, finding Liz sitting against one of the walls, Nicholas only a couple of feet away down on his knees as he placed the last of four stones on the ground.

''Max,'' Michael whispered, pointing over at Isabel whom was standing in the middle of the white shapeless stones, its texture reminding them of a diamond. Max's eyes, however remained on them only one or two seconds before they flew over to Tess. She was standing with her back almost against the wall opposite from Liz. Her eyes kept switching between Nicholas and Isabel.

''Why isn't she doing anything?'' Michael asked.

Max shrugged.

''Well, I am doing something,'' Michael said as he started to approach the scene.

Liz was the first to see him. She struggled with the ropes of her hands, wanting to help, wanting to let him know that nothing was what it seemed, not anymore. She tried to speak, yell and even scream, but no sound was heard because of the piece of fabric that was still stuffed in her mouth, deeper than it had first been.

Isabel was the second to spot him. ''Nicholas, behind you.''

Nicholas looked at Michael over his shoulder and got up the second he spotted him. Michael looked at Isabel partially in confusion and partially in frustration. ''Isabel, why did...''

''It's Vilandra,'' she interrupted.

''What did you do to her?''

Nicholas smiled. ''I didn't do anything to her, but your wife did, Max!'' he said, raising his voice with every word, knowing that Max wouldn't be able to stay in the shadows.

Nicholas's words stung Liz, though she didn't try to show it, knowing that Max was probably watching her...or maybe he was watching Tess, still clueless. Liz didn't know much more, but she did know that Tess couldn't be trusted and never should have been.

Max stepped out off the shadows and joined Michael, his eyes narrowing as he met Tess's eyes. ''You're making Isabel believe that she's Vilandra. We trusted you, even when Maria and Liz said we shouldn't. You've been going behind our backs all this time, haven't you?''

''Let's just say she made a deal with the devil and she had to trade in her soul for...''

''I did it for us,'' Tess said, cutting off Nicholas before he could reveal her secret for her. ''Those stones are a way home, back to Antar. Nicholas wouldn't take me with him if I didn't give him Isabel.''

''Max,'' Isabel whimpered, her hands reaching for her head just like Max and Michael had done minutes ago.

''Control her,'' Nicholas ordered Tess.

''Iz, are you alright?'' Michael asked as he took a step towards her. Max reaction came a few seconds later; his eyes were still on the stones and his mind was repeating Tess's words.

Nicholas took a couple of steps to the side and placed his hand on Liz's head. ''If you two move as much as an inch closer, my kindness will be forced to be tested.''

Max abruptly stopped. Michael hesitated, but came to a halt, too. Nicholas smiled. ''Good.'' His eyes traveled over to Tess who was intently looking at Max. ''Stop drooling and control her long enough for us to get out of here.''

Tess nodded and looked over at Isabel who was slowly becoming aware of what was going on, but before she could fully awake, Tess pulled her back down again. She dug into the deepest part of Isabel's brain and altered her to Nicholas liking.

Meanwhile, Nicholas grabbed Liz by her elbow and pulled her up roughly. Liz whimpered, but only he heard it. ''I'm sorry, did I hurt you?'' Tears sprung to Liz's eyes at his harsh and uncaring tone. He really didn't care if he hurt her or not and it scared her. It scared her because neither Max nor Michael could do anything about it. Nicholas noticed her tears and looked at Max, smiling. ''Imagine what pain she would be in if I took her with me to Antar. I've heard that humans can't survive there and that they die a slow and painful death, of course that's just one of those silly alien rumors and it has never been witnessed before, not yet anyway.''

''If you hurt her I'll...''

''You'll do nothing, but move to the side and watch as I take Vilandra with me and leave this horrid place forever. If you don't agree to my therms I will kill Liz here and now and you'll have a front row seat, understood?''

Max nodded and could do nothing but watch as Nicholas pulled Liz in the direction of the stones and into the square between them. His hand rested on top of her head while the other held her steady around her waist. Michael gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists to prevent himself from not giving into his anger, but he knew that if he lost his temper now, they would lose Liz, Maria and Max would lose Liz.

Tess who had been standing next to Isabel all this time, looked at Max, her eyes pleading. ''Come with us?''

''Yeah, come with us,'' Nicholas said with a grin.

''This was never our home, Max, Antar is. Our baby would be raised in a healthy and save environment.''

Liz's eyes widened in shock and looked over at Max, ignoring Nicholas's laughter, but he turned his eyes away. ''You tricked me,'' he said and raised both of his hands, aiming them directly at Tess.

''Tut tut...not so fast, are you sure that you want to do that?'' Nicholas asked as he removed his arm from Liz's waist and brought his other hand up to her head, too.

Max glared at him, but lowered his hands nonetheless. Liz was too important to lose, though Tess's confession had already caused for another fragile string to snap, their relationship now loosely hanging by its remaining threads. She had made the choice this time to distance herself from him and blindfold her emotions from him, though he knew that the truth had hurt her. He had lied to her. He had kept something from her for the very first time, something that she found so disgusting and beautiful at the same time. She looked over at Tess, at her stomach. She knew that Max couldn't kill her, not when there was a baby growing inside of her.

Tess stepped out of the square, in the direction of Max. Nicholas sighed at her human behavior and looked down at his watch because if felt like the perfect gesture to go with his sigh. He moved his gaze over to Isabel and smiled at the sight of her. She had kept quiet all this time, knowing that it would be requested by him. She showed him respect and once they were back on Antar she would remember how much she loved him. He reached out to touch her hair, removing one of his hands from Liz's head, a movement Max caught. Tess moved closer and closer to him, telling him of the wonderful life that lay waiting for him if he only chose to live it.

Nicholas didn't pay any attention to her words. All he could see was Vilandra and her blond locks as they shone with the life she held. His fingertips brushed against her hair and as he pulled back his hand, he knew that something had changed and that something was wrong. Caught up in his admiration of the girl beside him, he hadn't seen through her act and he hadn't felt her arm snake around his waist, searching for an easy way to kill him. She had found his weak spot without him noticing and because of his recklessness a sharp pain ran as fast as a lightning bolt through his body, through every single bone. And before the watchful eyes of everyone else, he quickly started to crumble, turning into dust. He vanished within seconds, leaving nothing behind but ashes.

Liz fell to the ground, unable to catch herself because of her tied hands. She felt her knees scrape against the hard stone of the ground, but didn't care. She just wanted to get out of here, go home and lay on her bed so she could think and maybe even write all of this down for her to keep throughout her entire life. The memory might not be pleasant, but it was worth remembering.

''Isabel, are you...,'' Max started, but stopped when he saw Isabel kneel to the ground to help Liz. She pulled the piece of cloth out of her mouth. Liz started to cough, an innocent action that brought fresh tears to her eyes. Her mouth was dry and she tried to moisten it with her saliva so her breath wouldn't be ragged. Isabel untied the ropes as fast as she could. Liz brought her arms back to the front of her body and looked at her fingers as she clenched and unclenched them.

Max opened his mouth to say something, but Liz's image was blocked by Tess as she came to halt right in front of him, her eyes blazing with anger. ''You betrayed your own people!''

''Nicholas wasn't my people,'' Max defended. ''I don't even know my people.''

''Then come with me. You'll get the chance to get to know them. You'll get the chance to rule your own kingdom, have power. It's were you belong, Max.''

''I belong here.''

''You're alien,'' Tess said sharply.

''And part human,'' Max said. ''How do you know that I will be able to live there or that you will be able to live there?''

''We're only human on the outside, Max. Our appearances will change once we get to Antar, that ability has been given to us for a reason. You could bring peace to Antar and watch your child grow up the way it was intended,'' Tess explained, placing her hand flat against her stomach.

Max trailed her movement with his eyes. ''Are you sure that it's mine?''

Tess nodded. ''Humans can't impregnate our kind. You are the only one I've slept with, Max.''

Liz averted her eyes from the scene unfolding in front of her. The words were enough to create the image she didn't want to see.

''You tricked me into sleeping with you, you told me...you told me that I fell asleep and had been dreaming of something that lay ahead, in our destiny, something I wanted to prevent.''

''It was the only way to get close to you and keep you close. You have to understand,'' Tess said.

''I don't,'' Max admitted. ''I don't love you, but I do love that child inside of you, even if I won't be there to raise it.''

Tess raised her head, her eyes locking with Max. ''You'll let me go?''

Max nodded. ''We don't know if the baby will survive here and I'm not taking any chances.''

Tess lowered her eyes back down to her stomach, affectionately stroking it. She turned around and headed back over to the stones. She looked at Max over her shoulder once more before stepping into the square. ''I'm sorry.'' She took her place in between the stones and closed her eyes. Her lips started to move, saying words that the aliens understood, even though the language was foreign to them. The stones lit up brightly, creating four pillars. From there the light started to spread itself, locking her in a white transparent room. Tess met Max's eyes one more time before the light became so bright that it blinded them and forced them to look away. After a couple of seconds, the light completely dimmed, leaving no evidence behind but the four stones. Michael went to collect them, knowing that he would have to hide them in the desert with Max as soon as possible.

Liz was the first one to come between them and the silence. ''I want to get out of here.''

''You won't hear me complain,'' Michael remarked.

''Yeah, Kyle and Maria are waiting for us,'' Isabel reminded.

''Liz,'' Max started as he took a step towards her, ''are you alright?''

Liz ignored his question and turned to look at Isabel. ''Can you please let me out of here?''

Isabel looked from Max to Liz before nodding. She headed over to a wall and placed her hand upon it and created an exit for Liz without saying a word. Liz thankfully smiled at her before stepping out of the cave. She wrapped her arms around herself to protect herself from the coldness and hurried down in the direction of the cars, choosing not to listen to Max as he called her name. She found them with ease; the lights of Maria's Jetta were on and she could hear the motor running. She hurried over to the car, shocking both Kyle and her best friend. Maria ran over to her and threw her arms around her for a quick hug. ''Liz! Oh my God, are you okay? What happened in there? God, are you alright? Are you hurt?''

Liz pulled away from the hug and shook her head. ''I'm fine.''

''What about Isabel?'' Kyle carefully asked.

Liz looked over at him, managing a sad smile. ''She's fine, too.'' She brought her eyes back over to Maria. ''Can you take me home?''

''But Michael, Tess...Max,'' her friend uttered.

''Tess is on Antar, she was carrying Max's baby.''

''Ba...a what?'' Maria asked.

''Max slept with Tess,'' Liz said. ''I'll tell you the story later, but right now I just want to go home, please?''

''Yeah, sure, get in. Kyle can wait for the others.''

''They can manage,'' Kyle said as he headed over to the car and opening the passenger side door for Liz. ''They're the one with the super powers, right?''

Liz mumbled a 'thank you' before getting in. Maria and Kyle did the same. No one said anything as the car was started and none of them looked back at the remaining three figures. Liz didn't look back at Max; it hurt too much.

* * *

REVIEW! Please? :-) So, so, so?! :-) I'm happy with some of the parts of this chapter, but I don't think I did the part in the Pod Chamber justice. I did try my best, though. :-) Let me know what you think because without your reviews I would have never felt as confident about this story as I do right now, well, maybe not right now, but you get the picture. I'll try to update asap, but I have other stories to update, too, so I plead for you to be patient. Thanks :-)


	9. Underneath the Stars

Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

A/N: Hey! :-) I know, it's been a long long time since I've updated this story, but that's because I prefer writing Gilmore Girls fanfiction above others so... Plus, I don't have a lot of time on my hands to write anymore. Anyway, this is the last chapter and I hope you like it. Also, thanks to _Alexia _for beta-ing it for me. :-)

* * *

Underneath the Stars

Liz lay on her bed, propped up against her pillows while staring at the wall across from her. There were no posters cluttering it and no perfectly framed pictures had been hung there, something she had done deliberately to keep her feet from losing their grip on the firm ground underneath, though she had trouble keeping her balance in the place she found herself now, a world that was as far from normal as anyone could ever get. She had seen things that she had otherwise not believed and she had felt things that she often thought herself too young for. She had lost her heart to someone who wasn't even of this earth, in more than one way and even though, her heart had been left bruised and scarred after the last couple of days, she still loved him. It was a dangerous emotion because it made her vulnerable to everything he said and did, no matter how small or innocent. It made her feel envious time after time, an emotion that often went hand in hand with love. She had trusted him before and she still did, though only with her life and not with her heart.

Her eyes lost their focus for a slight second as they wandered over to the window. She was no longer able to look outside and gaze at the night sky, trying to pinpoint the location of his planet, his home; curtains now covered up the glass, taking away the magic she used to feel when she looked in its direction. She no longer had to wonder about their future anymore because they had none, not anymore. It had been taken from them by Tess, a name Liz refused to say out loud; Tess had managed to win him over, taking not only him away from her, but also her best friend and her happiness. She stubbornly blinked away the tears she felt lurking behind her eyes, refusing to cry; she had already spent enough tears on him and he didn't deserve any more. Her eyes went back to the wall in front of her as she continued hiding from him.

Outside, on the other side of the window, Max sat, his knees pulled up to his chest and his back slumped against the wall. Over the last couple of days, he had spent most of his evenings out there, his eyes lowered as he listened for a sign, something that would let him know that things were going to be okay between them again, though from Liz's recent behavior towards him, he knew that the struggle would be even harder this time. She had avoided him, hadn't talked to him since the night of Tess's departure; she wouldn't even look at him and it made him feel horrible. His heart had sank to the pit of his stomach while aching with guilt and regret. He knew that he had betrayed Liz in a way that brought tears to her eyes whenever she thought about it. He knew because he knew her so well. He had made a mistake by trusting Tess who had used it to her own advantage. She had gotten close enough to him to get what she had so selfishly wanted, a way out, a way to get back home. She knew that if she would be carrying his child, he would be vulnerable to it, unable to hurt her for his fear of hurting the baby, their baby. He had let her go after all she had put them through, had put Liz to. Tess had taken her best friend away from her and now he wished that he had believed her.

A sigh escaped from his lips, soft enough to blend in unnoticeably with the cool evening breeze as it swiveled into her room, making the curtains stir. He rubbed his hands together while shrinking into his jacket a little more. He was cold and he knew that he could go home if he wanted, but he didn't. He would stay as long as needed for her to forgive him and to confide in him like she used to. The wind tugged at his shirt and the coldness had already spread itself across his face, but yet he didn't move. It would be the same routine as yesterday and the day before that, he would stay until she had fallen asleep, confident that she was safe. He had learned to listen to every sound she made, to recognize each breath, to savor what he could still get.

He tensed up at the sudden sound of footsteps, bare as they slowly moved across the room. He held his breath, unsure if he wanted to be discovered or not. He had only seconds to make up his mind and once he did, it was too late. He had no more time to scramble onto his feet, all he could do was stare down at his hands, not knowing what to do next.

The curtains blew in the wind, though unable to hide his sitting form from her. Liz's dark locks danced around her face as she looked at him, her arms hanging down by her sides. A silence wove its web quickly between them as they both found themselves in an awkward position. Liz moved away from the window a little, just enough for him to be hidden from her once again. She wondered how long he had been sitting there, longer than yesterday? A shiver ran through her, numbing her for a few seconds as she looked up at the dark sky, scanning the few stars that lay scattered across it. Finally, she let out a defeated sigh and wrapped her arms around herself as she moved back towards the window.

''Max,'' she whispered, casting her eyes upon the side of his face.

His lips twitched with a smile that would never reach his eyes. He turned his head in her direction, almost instantly finding her eyes with his own. ''Liz,'' he returned, once again holding back a smile.

''How long have you been out here?'' she asked, her tone soft and her eyes careful.

He turned his eyes away from her, not giving her an answer.

''As long as last night?'' she continued, waiting for his eyes to lock on her face once again. ''As long as the day before that?''

Max averted his gaze from her face to the night sky above him, almost as dark as her eyes. ''Liz, I'm...''

''I know.'' She paused shortly, following his gaze up to the stars before continuing. ''You always are.''

The wind announced the silence that was about to fall as it brushed past their faces and toyed with their dark locks, hers dancing and his stirring softly, as calmly as he searched for the words he needed. ''I didn't mean for all this.'' He listened intently to her breaths, still soothing as they steadily left her. ''I didn't mean to hurt you,'' he uttered.

''But you did,'' she responded, more quickly than he had anticipated.

His eyes flew over to her face, only able to make out the sharp contours of her face; she had moved closer to the window, the light no longer making all of her features visible to him. ''She tricked me,'' he said, aware of how desperate he sounded - desperate for her to believe him. ''I didn't...I never...she made me believe that I was dreaming.'' Even to his own ears, his explanation sounded weak, something that would never be believed, but he knew her and he held on to the little hope he still carried.

''Spare me the details,'' Liz said. ''I don't need to hear about your late night mating rituals with her,'' she finished coldly.

No longer able to just sit there, so close to her without doing anything, Max scrambled to his feet, watching with pain as Liz backed away from the window, from him. ''She tricked me. I swear to you that she did.'' He moved towards the window and appeared in front of her.

''You let her trick you; you didn't listen to me, didn't trust me, but you did trust her,'' she accused, her tone harsher than he had ever heard it.

''Liz, please, I...''

''No, I don't want to hear anything you have to say anymore, Max. I just want to forget everything,'' she said, cutting him off sharply.

''Does that include us?'' he asked while meeting her eyes with his own.

She wanted to look away, but couldn't. She couldn't resist his eyes, the look in them so heartbroken, so affected by her words. In shame she lowered her eyes and took a step back, realizing that she was unsure of her own words. She shook her head. ''No...I mean, yes.'' Finally, she sighed and looked back up at him. ''I don't know, Max.''

''What do you not know?'' he asked, entering her room with ease, with practice. His eyes stood soulful as he closely watched her. ''Do you no longer lo...''

''Don't go there, Max. You know I still do.'' Liz ran her hands through her hair, turning away from him as she started to pace around her room nervously, stopping only when she had found peace with her own thoughts. She turned to face him again. ''I just feel alienated...from you. She's...Tess is your destiny.''

Max moved closer towards her, his features softened and a smile threatening to show itself. ''We make our own destiny, Liz, I've told you that before.''

''But she is your future,'' Liz said, raising her voice a little in the frustration she had tried not to show this entire time. ''She's carrying your baby, your baby, Max!''

''A baby I didn't want from a woman I foolishly trusted and never loved. I love you, Liz.'' His gaze intensified as he took one last step in her direction, leaving not enough distance for her to run. As she tried to move away, he reached out an gently locked his fingers around her elbow.

''Max,'' she warned.

''On this planet there is no one who could ever compare to you. You are perfect in my eyes.'' He paused briefly to pull her closer towards him. ''You are beautiful, Liz, in every way.'' He brought his free hand up to her face and delicately brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, affectionately looking down at her. ''I made a mistake by trusting Tess, something that is terribly human, but maybe that's what I am, but only human, despite my powers and origin.''

''So if your mistake makes you human, does my power make me alien?'' Liz asked shyly.

Max smiled. ''I guess we complete each other.''

She returned his smile and didn't move away when he let go of her. ''Do you forgive me?''

Liz nodded. ''Yes.'' A sigh followed her answer. ''I was just jealous of her, I still am.''

''Why?'' he asked, his expression serious.

Her eyes lowered themselves to his chest. ''Because she was like you and...and I don't know if I can ever live up to that.''

''Liz,'' he softly said, gently grabbing her by the chin and forcing her to look at him. ''You've already exceeded her.''

A shy smile spread across her face as she mumbled a 'thank you' - a smile that caused for Max to lean in and kiss her. She just waited for him to reach her, a small smile lingering on her lips, knowing what was about to come; when their lips touched, she saw stars.

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REVIEW! Please :-) Like I said at the beginning of this chapter, it's short and it is the **last **chapter so... I hope you liked it, but if you didn't then that's okay, too. I don't think I'll ever write a Roswell fic again, but writing this one was definitely different from my other stories. If you happen to be a fan of Gilmore Girls, too, then you should check out my other stories, if you want, of course. :-) Thanks for reading and for your kind words, I appreciated them all.


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